Inspirational Things--Let them eat Cake!

Cakes are not only a focal point at many receptions, but also can say a lot about a couple and their wedding. Growing up, cake was never my favorite dessert, I was always more of a cookies or cheesecake fan. I had this dream growing up that I wanted to serve cheesecake at my wedding instead of cake. That was until I found my love for wedding cake. Wedding cakes are not just a plain old box cake...they are delicious! Not only that, but there are so many different shapes, sizes, designs, and flavors. You can truly make a cake that is unique and yours. While a wedding cake is not for every couple getting married, it definitely is the right choice for Tj and I.

I have done a TON of wedding cake looking since we got engaged and have narrowed it down to what our style of cake will be. My dream cake would be 7 tiers, each with a different shape and flavor and fondant that actually tastes good...but that will not be happening. More realistically I would like a 4 or 5 tier cake, probably square, black and white, and hopefully a couple different flavors :) Here are some of my inspiration pictures that I have saved, I have many more saved, but will spare you that many pictures...

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Bridal Fairs...to go or not to go?

I have never been to a bridal fair, but then again I have never had a reason to attend one. When I worked at the Candy store, they attended the bridal fairs, but I was usually the lucky one to get to stay at the store and work. My best friend Monica got married last year, but she decided that she wanted to attend the bridal fairs with just her Mom, which is definitely okay with me.

Now, I like to think that I have things mostly planned out. I know most of my vendors and have them booked, but I still just have this urge to want to go to the Bridal Fairs. Maybe this is for a couple of reasons:

1. You can never have too many ideas...
2. They give away free stuff!
3. They have a runway show
4. It's a bridal experience that you only get to do while you're engaged

I have several options of the bridal fairs that I can go to. The other decision of this is who to take with me...Do I invite my Mom and make it just the two of us? Do I invite my Mom, FMIL Kandi, MOH's Monica and Court? Do I invited the moms and all of my BM's? There are three different bridal fairs that I am looking into attending...

The Flint Hills Bridal Show

• Date: Sunday, January 9th
• Time: 1-5 pm
• Admission: Free
• Location: Courtyard Marriot, Junction City

94.5 Country Bridal Fair

• Dates: January 22-23
• Time: Saturday 10-5; Sunday 12-5 pm
• Admission: $6 in advance, $8 at the door
• Location: the Topeka Ramada

Perfect Wedding Guide Spring Bridal Show

• Date: February 13
• Time: 10 am-5 pm
• Admission: $8 online; $12 at the door
• Location: Overland Park Convention Center

I still have time to worry about this, but at least I have found some shows that would be possibilities to attend.

Inspirational Things--Ceremony Decor

Let me start off with a couple of factoids...we know our ceremony location, the time of the ceremony and mostly who is going to be up front with us during our ceremony. On the other hand, I do not know for sure what our decor will be for the ceremony. The ceremony will be held at my church that I have gone to since I was born and it is in the afternoon. It is not a huge church, but not small by any means...I would say that it should hold about 300 people. It does have a balcony that would hold about 20 people if needed. There are about 16 pews down the main aisle as well as a "wing" of pews on the side.

One awesome feature of my church is the stained glass windows...they are gorgeous! My church actually already has candle holders that go in the windows and look like they belong, so I don't have to worry about finding something there, just the candles. Pretty much I need to decorate the aisle that we will walk down. My thoughts are pomanders or pew bows. I really like both of these inspiration images, but for two completely different reasons.

I love this one because it is so dramatic and seems cozy.

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I love this one because of the simplicity and openness.

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I know, I am indecisive about this, but you will just have to wait and see what I have planned :)

Planning has slowed down a little...

So, I haven't had the chance to post in awhile due to a couple of factors:

1. School started back...yay, only 1 more semester :)
2. My photography is super-fantastically-crazily busy right now!
3. I work a lot...

But, I am back in the planning swing of things and ready to share more of my planning adventures. I will start by sharing a little bit more of my inspiration for things.

Monograms

I knew from all of my wedding searching and blog stalking that I wanted to have a monogram or two for our big day. I found on one of the sites a tutorial on how to make a monogram using Microsoft Power Point. It was a little confusing at first, but after I started to get the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. I like the idea of something simple, but I know that I want our names and our dates. The last two are my favorites, and have already used the last one for our Engagement Party! {sorry for the extra white around them, they need to be cropped :) }

Photo of the Week #3

This picture of the week is from April 2, 2010 when we went out to dinner and bowling with Monica, Tyler, Courtney and Kyle. We ate at Houlihans and went bowling at the K-State Student Union.

Inspirational Things-Centerpieces

I love flowers. I think they are so pretty and just lovely. I love all of the different varieties and different color variations that they come in. One big downside to flowers is how much they cost. Flowers can annihilate a budget very fast, which is not something that I want to do. Over my searching and looking through wedding pictures, I have atleast started to narrow down that I do want flowers in my centerpieces. I have not decided the specifics of colors or types yet, more searching and pricing to do on that later, but I do want to stay within my colors, red and white. Here are some that have helped me narrow down to a closer idea of what I want. First off, Tj and I have both talked about how we don't like tall centerpieces, it makes it hard to talk to people at your table and blocks your view. So this one is out:

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I like this next one, but it seems to be missing something for me. It may almost be too simple.

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This one is unique. The flowers are very spiky and visually interesting, but I am not sure what they are and have no idea of their price.

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These next two are most like what I am wanting. Low, redish, packed full of flowers, some sort of lighting. Hopefully without packets of sugar and Sweet-n-low :)

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