if you've rsvp'd "yes" and need a room downtown, we've blocked off more space for you. the hawthorne inn and conference center: 420 high st, winston-salem, nc 27101 800.972.3774 THIS IS THE ONLY DOWNTOWN HOTEL WITH ROOMS LEFT, PLEASE BOOK BY SEPTEMBER 2ND.


shuttles will pick up and drop off at the marriott, within walking distance.


see you soon!

i'm not sure when it happens. you wake up one morning and you have a life partner, a mortgage and two feline "children." your cars are paid off, you have two steady salaries coming in, there's a ring on your finger and you're discussing the matte and weight of invitation papers. 

wait. a mortgage? when did we get a mortgage? when we bought our first home. did you catch that in the original list? let me say it again: WE. BOUGHT. OUR. FIRST. HOME.

and you're like, "THAT'S why your wedding registry is so crazy." yes, observant sir, it is. 

here it is, in all it's fairly empty glory before we loaded our consolidated households in:

so i'm marrying an a-hole. well, i mean. not really. but it gives me the opportunity to offer up this clip:

then i get to tell you this story:

matt and i decided to make candles while we were home for the holidays. and they turned out pretty well, actually. he was really great. helping me melt candle wax, plant wicks, and decide scents and colors. then he does this:

but, like he said, i'm doing it for the crafts. and i'm pretty excited about our candles.

so let's make some candles.

what you'll need:
heat-resistant containers (we used tea cups and wine glasses)
wax (we used soy)
wicks, trimmed with bottoms (the larger the container, the thicker the wick)
wick stick-ums
wick stabilizer sticks with rubber bands 
a double boiler (we used a pyrex measuring cup in a pot, set on a steamer and not the bottom of the pot. it worked.)

what you'll do:
1: wick your jars — take your wick and place a wick stickum on the bottom of the tab. push it down in the center of the bottom of your container, securing it in place.

2: melt the wax — put 1lb of wax in your pot and melt it until you have a golf ball size piece of unmelted wax left and turn off the heat. stir it until the ball of wax melts and add 1oz of scent and color (add small amounts until desired color) to the wax and stir it very well.

3: pour the wax — when the wax looks kinda like a slushie, pour it into your container to within a ¼ inch of the top of the container. 

4: adjust your wick — center it, then take your wick stabilizer and slide it over the wick and lay it across the top of your container. 

5: finish your candle — let it cure over night and trim the wick to 1/8 inch.

there's actually more funny story to that night:

after we made the candles, we made dinner. but i left the wax-covered candle-spoon in the spoon rest on the stove. and my dad "helped" by stirring the mashed potatoes with the wax-covered candle-spoon. then we had waxed mashed potatoes for dinner. and i quote, "these potatoes taste like deodorant."

but my dad ate all of his. and all of the rest of ours. right off our plates. like a child who's been told not to do something and does it deliberately to make a point. 

he ate the waxed mashed potatoes. with a smile.

so, as you know, we had an engagement photo sesh with bridesmaid courtney pierce of courtpie photography all around austin, tx. the pics are here on the site.

and we plan to use some of them creatively in things we'll need printed for the wedding and around the ceremony/reception site. but, we want a way to keep them forever. a really meaningful way ...

so, we created a photo guest book here. we really like the lay-flat design and embellishments that snapfish offers. this way, we'll have the photos and a guestbook that won't be gathering dust somewhere before we just decide to throw it away 30 years from now.

that's the cover. here are a few sample pages:

a keepsake, a guest book, and a conversation piece. all for less than $100. coolbeans.

xoxo,
the bride

who has two thumbs and needs something blue? this girl. well, not anymore. thanks to norakaren.

she's great. she'll do anything you want. she has a catalog of about 500 white and dyeable shoes. so, if you're looking for some schmancey caramel heels ... i'm just saying.

so, the winmock at kinderton has a crapton of nooks and crannies to decorate. and i have my table decoration plan down for both ceremony and reception — even the guest book table and gift area. i'm covered. but all those nooks and crannies, and all those places you never think about but will need something the day of? i'm not so covered. or should i say wasn't so covered?

i looked around the apartment, and realized that matt and i have a ton of crap we don't need. you know, combining two adult apartments and all ... in fact, we have a crapton of promotional pint glasses.

a crapton of crannies and a crapton of glasses? they should meet.

as you know, we're doing bulk flowers in white and blue. maybe some succulents. but you gotta have something to put them in, right? something you can put water in. and in a nook or cranny, they won't have to withstand really close scrutiny. so i made pint glass vases.

what you do:
- clean the glass

- put the ribbon on with the hot glue gun, or just tie it. tying works.

and ... there you have it. "free" BACKGROUND vases that you can just throw away when you're done with them. i'm pretty brilliant.

xoxo,
the bride

ohmygod, hi. hyper-excited rachel here with the perfect way to start a d.i.y. post: "you'll think this is an amazing idea and i might recruit you to help even if you don't think this is an amazing idea."

ok, so. let's say we have 150-200 people at this shindig. let's just say. that's possibly 25 tables of 8. and we need to dress 25 tables of 8, possibly.

you can rent some really way too tall hurricane vases, 3 per, for $45 a table. then you have to fill them with flowers or rocks or floating candles. and for a long table, that's gonna feel pretty sparse.

i know, i know. i've already invested in the vintage mismatched china. (and i'm still over the moon about it, so excited.) but what if we make it a theme?

because we not only have the tables at the reception, but the standing cocktail rounds at the champagne ceremony to dress. not to mention all the nooks and crannies in that huge room.

my mom and i already had the stroke of genius to use plates (because there are extra plates) on stands — salads as table numbers and dinners as nook-and-cranny decorations. and, as luck would have it, she just happens to collect these totally cool rare vintage teapots.

why not use them? and if we're already using plates and pots, why not cups? and bowls? so i went to ebay, and had an ebasm. yes. an ebasm.

hello, mismatched teacups. i can float a single bud in them. i can make them into candles. i can pot herbs in them. and i can sell them all packaged with my china when we're done. because it's china. wow.

but that's just the reception decor figured out. what about the many standing cocktail tables we'll need for the champagne ceremony? i want them to feel like the whole event belongs together. enter, anchor hocking and hazel atlas. yes, depression glass. and 70's glass. sue me:

let's get some bulk gardenias, maybe some succulents. let's get some fancy white sand. let's make some candles. this wedding is decorated. and it feels like it has a theme. i love that.

oh, and crazy, you can get personalized teabags as a favor. thinking about it. also, excited to make candles.

xoxo,
a very excited d.i.y. bride

oh, hi there. rachel here. thanks for stopping by. 

so, i was home last week looking at venues and wedding dress shopping. and i cried a of couple times.

my mom and i spent two days going from venue to venue that had a date open even remotely near the one matt and i wanted. and matt liked none of them — from afar. so i cried. (we ultimately found one we're quite happy with, i posted about it earlier.)

then i went dress shopping with my m.o.b., m.o.g., m.o.h. and future s.i.l. (i get the acronym thing from the army men in my life. o.m.g., i kind of like it.) and i cried that horrible happy cry you cry when you say yes to the dress. i never thought i'd be that girl, but i should have known the karma would come back on me when i named my wedding dress inspiration folder "that girl."

anyway. i posted earlier about first dance songs. ready for a real tearjerker? father-daughter dance songs. there aren't enough hankies on earth. the only thing saving me is the fact that my dad can't dance and i'll most likely laughcry the whole time.

those are just the tame ones that i culled it down to. imagine dancing to one of these with your dad on your wedding day. i dare you to try not to cry, ladies:

yeah, you see that puddle of tears you're in right now just reading those song titles and imagining dancing with your dad? i just did that to you. i wouldn't hit play if you haven't already. it's just so bawler. too bawler.

and you know what's worse? my dad's a bigger crier than i am. i could play "baby got back" and my dad would cry. in fact, let's laugh at that right now:

you're welcome. love you.

xoxo,
the bride

rachel here.

so, i've been thinking of ways to invite my girls to be a part of my bridal party. i can't get them all together, or go see each one individually. they're as far flung as new york and to as close as a 90 minute drive. and only two even live in the same place! i've seen cards on etsy, "i've got the guy, now all i need are my girls" and so on. there are actually some pretty cute ones.

but.

not all of my girls know eachother. so i wanted to include little bios. and i'm asking them to pick their own dress and shoes, so i want to give them as much info as possible on that.

you've already seen my d.i.y. dress color guide. but then i went a step further.

each maid gets a tote bag. "totes a maid," get it? i also made a "bride," a "m.o.h.," a "m.o.b." and a "m.o.g" — perfect to tote things on the big day.

she also gets my handy dandy wedding color cheat sheet with attached peacock feather, a personalized card and a "meet the maids" bio with contact info.

well, we couldn't find a venue available for the weekend after labor day 2014. that sucks. so we booked the winmock at kinderton in bermuda run, north carolina for the following weekend. yay!