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.

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.

k, so, rachel here as always.

i've picked my maids and matt and i have picked our colors. i've been working on an "invitation" for my maids to be a part of my party to send to each of them. i'm pretty sure they all already know they're being invited, but i need to make it official.

when it comes to dresses, i've got one who hates to show her arms, even though there's nothing wrong with them. one who worries about baby body, even though she doesn't have one. one who thinks she weighs too much even though she weighs less than most americans. seriously, if we're not all candidates for body dysmorphic, i'm not sure who is.

so, i'm letting them all pick their own knee-length cocktail dresses. my only criteria, minus "knee-length cocktail dress" is that the color be in the wedding palette. basically, my rule is: if you can find it in the feather of a (nonalbino) peacock, and it's not black or tan, you can wear it. with tan shoes. tan HEELS to be exact. tan = warm caramel from the wedding colors.

i'd love it if the dress could have some type of 20's flare, like fringe or drop waist or lace. but i'm not real picky. i made a handy wedding color guide for each of them:

and (hopefully) there you have it: the best damn bridesmaid dress guide on earth. i guess we'll see ;)

xoxo,
the bride

rachel here ;)

anyone who knows me knows that we aren't a couple that's going to register for china. not because we won't use it. but because we don't need it. i kinda already own it.

not only do matt and i collectively have 3 sets of everyday tableware, and not only do i collect alcohol-themed decorative dessert-sized plates — but i got a wild hair one day to hit replacements limited and create my own mismatched china set. i had a lot of fun:

i'm kind of in love with the set. and i looked all over for a company that rents vintage mismatched china in the north carolina area for receptions. and i found a few. crazy expensive.

but i really think it's a great way to decorate a table without needing much by way of centerpieces. i also really like the idea of really long communal tables, as opposed to rounds. so any centerpieces would need to be low so people can meet and talk over them. the table will really need something.

but i was starting to think my mismatched china dream would never come true, because of the cost.

until i saw libby's listing on tradesy for her full wedding vision, which included 285 mismatched dinner plates at $1 a pop and 402 mismatched salad plates at 50 cents a pop. even with more than we'd need, the cost would be less than renting.

libby and i are now working out transportation, through family and friends. so no crazy shipping costs for such a heavy delivery. here are libby's photos from her wedding:

xoxo,
the bride

rachel here (of course) ;)

you've seen it on pinterest. get yourself some mason jars (or any clear glass) and pour paint on the inside, manipulating it into a thin coat covering the entire thing. turn that bad boy upside down and let it dry.

so, i went to home depot and got sample cans of our wedding colors. this is the tale of how it went.

(not well.)

i poured paint into the bottom of the jar. it took more than i thought. then all the rest took less. (lesson kinda learned)

i swirled it around and then turned it over. i know you can't just turn them upside down flush with a surface and expect them to dry. without air, it's just one wet party. so i propped them up on the lids.

they looked great. not so much the next morning ...

they were still wet in the morning, but looked like crap. like rivers in dried mud or something.

so, i took a foam brush and painted the inside with a thin coat, also basically moving around the still wet paint.

i let that dry, right side up, over night.

and that worked.

introducing our wedding colors: peacock blue and warm caramel with accents of rich navy, pure purple and eloquent ivory.

xoxo, 
the bride