Our Wedding Day: Wedding Party Entrance

Today I am excited to share the entrance of our wedding party and families. These pictures are self explanatory, but be sure to check out how FAR everyone (especially my bridesmaids!) had to walk to get to the aisle. They had to walk down a hill on the semi-solid ground wearing heels just to get to the aisle! I hear they were taking bets with each other on who was going to go rolling down the hill first! Luckily, everything worked out and no one tumbled down the hill into the guests! Enjoy the pictures!


Next up... Here Comes the Bride!

Our Wedding Day: Wedding Party Gifts

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share the details of our wedding party gifts with all of you. I meant to post this earlier in the week but I have been a little sidetracked. You see, I too have succumbed to the Twilight phenomenon. I have made fun of all of my friends and family for reading them so I decided to read them myself just so I could put some value to my opinion. Well, I was definitely proven wrong. These books are good. I mean really, really good. I was an English major in college and have probably read more literature than the average person, and that's why I was so snooty about the possibility of these books being good. Just trust me... do yourself a favor, get it over with and just read them if you haven't already!

Okay back to the recap! First, the boys. All of the guys in our wedding got different gifts. Sadly, I didn't remember to take pictures of all of them. Our ushers and guest book attendant got monogrammed rocks glasses, and I don't have any pictures of those. For each of the other guys, we got them each two gifts, and three for the Best Man. We tried to get them something to keep, and something tangible that they could use regularly. Their gifts included: personalized & framed sports bar signs, personalized Makers Mark cigars and cigar box, sports team wine bottle stoppers & corkscrews, personalized bottle of Woodford Reserve, and various other things. Here are some pictures of the boys' gifts:


I wish I would have taken pictures of everything all wrapped up... the boys LOVED the pink and green polka dot wrapping paper!

For our flower girls, we got them each the same things: a monogrammed purse, bow headband to wear in the wedding, pearl bracelet & pearl earrings, Claire's mini makeup kit and a pack of fun, colorful bracelets. For our ring bearer, we got him a video game for his PSP and a personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Here are a couple pics of their gifts:


Since both sets of Ryan's parents live in other places (San Diego and Colorado), we wanted to get them something related to Lexington. We found these Lexington platters and fell in love with them, so we got them each one along with a stand to display it:


For my Mom, I got her a sterling silver frame with two 5X7 slots, and dates engraved underneath. One was from Easter in 1984 and I put a picture of the two of us inside. The other, of course, was the wedding date and will hold a picture of us from that day. On the top of the frame, I also engraved "I love you more because I'm bigger" because this is what she and my Dad both used to tell me when they said goodnight to me, from the time I was little to when I was in college. I also had this pendant made for her that displayed a picture of her and my Dad on their wedding day. I thought it would be special for her to wear, since she would be missing him more than anyone,


And of course I saved the most fun gifts for last... my bridesmaids! In the beginning, I planned to get them each something timeless like a Tiffany bracelet or something, but in the end I opted to go with a lot of little things that they will use all the time. Each of them received a monogrammed tote bag, monogrammed beach towel from Preppy Monogrammed Gifts, monogrammed spa robe from Monogram Chick, a pearl necklace and pearl earrings, their shoes for the wedding and some simple black flip flops for the reception. My Matron of Honor also got an extra little gift but it is an inside joke that isn't even worth trying to explain! Here are some pictures:

All of the girls LOVED their gifts. I tried to personalize each of their gifts to the colors that I thought they would like the best, so each robe's monogram is the same color as the towel's monogram. I am so thankful for both Monogram Chick and Preppy Monogram Gifts because the quality of the items I purchased was just amazing! I can't wait to order some for myself with my new monogram!

All in all, I think each person was really happy with their gifts. I'm really glad we went with gifts that were different for each person because I honestly feel like it made them feel more individually appreciated... so that would be my gift-giving advice for all you brides to be!

Next up... Getting Ready!!!!

The Wedding Party: Gifting the Girls

I'm sorry that this post is a day later than it was supposed to be, but thanks to a break in the weather yesterday, I was able to go pick up my dress in Cincinnati. I am SO excited and love it even more than I remember! It definitely feels "real" now that I physically have the dress in my posession... well, in my coat closet:)

Back to gifts. Today will be devoted to gifting the girls in your wedding party. My overall advice would again be to make it as personal to each individual girl as possible. I will get more into that later, but my first recommendation are the tried and true Stephen Bonanno Sandals:

{image}

The great thing about buying Bonanno's? Well, other than the fact that you can customize the colors and they look great with everything.. if you purchase 6 pairs of Palm Beach sandals at regular price ($95 each), then you get a pair of Emma Sandals with your new initials at half price! If that isn't a great incentive, then I don't know what is! Bonannos really are a great option, because they will be enjoyed by your girls for years to come!

Next on my list is a gift for girls who love to accessorize, and really, what girl doesn't?! Monogrammed jewelry has always been a popular gift for wedding parties, but these items are not the monogrammed sterling or gold items that we are used to. I am loving these modern Monogrammed Wooden Pendants & Earrings from Morgan & Company:

{image}

I love, love, love the modern look of these pieces. Monogrammed sterling silver pieces are definitely beautiful, but they are also really common, and obviously you don't want to give something that your girls already have! These are also VERY affordable, at $15 for the pendant and $20 for the earrings; and monogramming is just $6 per piece. So you could get a pendant & earring set monogrammed for just $47 per girl!

Another great idea is a theme gift. One idea is a spa theme, because what girl wouldn't love a day of pampering?! You could arrange a spa treatment for the girls, and give them a little gift to go along with the day, that they could use again and again. Here is a great spa wrap from Monogram Chick:

{image}

And slippers from The Pink Monogram:

{image}

Giving a spa gift gives them a day of pampering, with these cute accessories to remember that day for years to come!

My final idea for the ladies is an example of how I would "make it personal" for my Matron of Honor, and since she doesn't read my blog, these may actually be some of her gifts:)

Since presentation is everything, you could start off with a cute monogrammed tote, like this one from Monogram Chick:

{image}

Then, you can fill it with things that are personal to you. For example, in college, we had our Thursday night ritual of watching The O.C. and eating Mad Mushroom Cheesesticks (seriously, if you come within 100 miles of Lexington, you must order them) to start off our night. So, I would throw in a couple of these:

{image}

Along with a set of these:

{image}

...because our Thursday nights were never complete without a drinking game.. or 20! And finally, to make it even more personal, I would throw in one of these Monogram Chick Recipe Card Boxes:

{image}

And I would fill it with food and drink recipes from our college days when we lived together, and beyond. It could even be funny things like a grilled cheese recipe, because I actually did have to teach her how to make one. You could also alternate recipe cards with photos of the two of you, as an added touch. Even if you choose not to fill it, the recipe box is still a great gift. I had this one on my Christmas list... but my procrastinating fiancee didn't get his order in in time! This entire gift would only cost you around $100 but would be SO special and memorable!

So, those are my ideas for bridesmaid gift ideas. I hope that my personalization example gives you a good idea of how my mind works when it comes to gift giving! The bottom line to me is just to make each recipient feel like you put a lot of thought into giving them something special, not just a lot of money. Good luck with your gifting!

A Surprise for our Flower Girl

Ryan and I have known all along that we wanted to ask his littlest sister, Kayla, to be our flower girl. Since she lives in San Diego, we knew that we would have to wait a long time before we could ask her in person. She and I have been very close since Ryan and I met each other, so I wanted to so something special for her. Although she hasn't met him yet, she LOVES our dog, Carter. She even wrote him a letter in the mail... it was adorable! So, to ask her to be our flower girl, I came up with this:

The picture is kind of hard to read from here, but it says "Kayla, Will you be our Flower Girl" and then our names. I got an unfinished frame from Michael's, along with the flower, bride and groom cutouts. I painted it all and hot glued it together. Carter and I had a little photo shoot to take the picture and he actually did really well! He really needs to be a dog model! haha.. So anyway, I packaged it up and sent it off to San Diego. She called us this morning and told me how much she loved it and that she would love to be our flower girl. She also told me she "covered the frame up so it doesn't get dirty" which I thought was really cute! She is a true girly girl and I am hoping she can use this frame for a picture after the wedding. Here is a picture that Ryan's Mom emailed me of Kayla with her frame!

Isn't she the cutest little blond haired, blue-eyed California girl? And, as you can see... the dimples definitely run in the family!