More Decor

A little something floral. Tonight's blog is going to be totally random. I'm including a picture to at least give you something to look at.

My dad & I are watching olympic ice skating together right now. This is hilarious in & of itself. Even better is the commentary he gives. Seriously, he's a funny guy. I didn't know ice skating could be so entertaining. And I quote, "Man, if I were twirling around like that I'd be drunk as a kook! They'd have to add hurling to the event..." Ah, sometimes you just have to sit back & enjoy your life.

Today Danny & I went by this antique store by suggestion of my older sister. You would not belive the steal we got. We bought 6 chairs & an entertainment center for $135! It all needs work, definite fixer upper jobs - honestly more often its more fun that way unless you ust don't have the time. And I just realized we just bought our first pieces of furniture together...weird. haha I'm having fun, but I can't wait for a weekend in Statesboro with my girls!

Cut the Cake

Not that this comes at any surprise, but we are doing something a little different for our wedding cake. The most important thing to Danny & me was that as many of our friends & family are able, could join us in this celebration. That being said, along with this, I feel that if we get many of our friends & family all together in one place not only should we serve them food they might actually enjoy, but we should also share some family traditions with them.

Pound cake is a pretty classic dessert at the Lee house. When I was thinking of what kind of cake we should have at our reception I ran across this cool idea in a magazine (Real Simple: Weddings 2010). Holly from Massachusetts used pans she found in Paris to make her own 3 tiered wedding cake. It was fairly simple, decorated with powdered sugar & fresh fruit, but SO pretty & so vintage. AHa I thought, I love it! That being said, it took much covincing not only of my mother (even more for my aunt), but we will be using a Lee-family recipe for our wedding cake & I couldn't be more excited! To add some flare, we are serving all our guests mini "rosettes". Different - yes. Will you enjoy it - oh yes. Will you forget it - never!

68 days & you will get to enjoy this childhood favorite of mine!

Post-It

I'm trying to be creative with all this wedding stuff. I want to use all the old traditions, but I want to put a little of my own spin on them. Its really crazy when you talk to people about weddings. It seems like everyone has an idea in their head of what weddings are "supposed" to look like. But what I'm realizing is that everyone's idea is a little different. You got the Cinderella princess wedding, the "my grandmother grew up in this church & this is the way we do things" wedding, the Keeping-up-with-the-Jones' wedding, the backyard barbeque with Bob down at the Steak Pit...I could go on. I'd love to hear some comments on this.

That being said, I personally like having things I can either use again or in this case read again. We're not having a guest book in so many words, but one of those contemp frames that the guests will sign. So I thought of another way for any loving attendees to send us a note (also another way for those with two left feet or a lacking in distinguished dialoguing skills). I didn't know it, but apparently I have been an old post card collector for the past several years. As I was cleaning out some drawers I found 50 postcards! I'm looking for some more, any suggestions? We're going to set them out on a table at the reception & leave them for guests to write us notes on. We've got a glass jar to send them to us in & I'm hoping to have some laughs & good reading on our many roadtrips over the month of May. So, if you keep up with this blog, make sure you grab one at the reception & tell us how beautiful you thought the wedding was! (haha this is only funny if you read my last post...). They're all different (surprised?), so you can pick just the well wishing card you wish to get your message across.

Boot-scoot Boogy

We've finally found some table decorations for the reception. I just couldn't justify buying lots of things that could never be used again & I wanted to be creative. After thinking about it I started looking around the house for ideas. Amongst the many things I'm going to try to work with, these are my favorite! These boots were my mom's when she was a about 5. Everything is going to be earthy & somewhat rustic.

I've been some what surprised and disappointed at how many haters there are when it comes to wedding planning. Seriously. I thought people would just be excited for us. Who cares what the shoes look like or what color the napkins are? Note to self, whenever any of my future friends get married, I don't care if the bridesmaids dresses are neon green and they carry dandelions, & I don't even care if I have to be one of those bridesmaids, I'm going to tell the bride its beautiful. And it is, because the joy is not the one day event of a wedding, but in the lifelong adventure of a marriage! Its a really cool gift to be able to be linked with your best friend, fellow laborer, admired leader & handsome man of your dreams before God & before man, and that doesn't end when the wedding is over; in fact, it really just begins. I hope I still think that way in 5 years because I know marriage is going to be tough & revealing, but the way you get to bear the image of God & the church in that way is so much more beautiful & honorable, who cares if its tough. I'll let you know more after I become a pro... First marriage counseling session Wednesday! I don't know if Chris & Cary know what they got themselves in to ;)

Boutonnieres

Amber, Debbie & I made these last weekend. The musicians, greeters & ushers will wear these at the wedding. They are rather creative if I do say so myself. I wanted to do something that was different & inexpensive. Let me know what you think!

Mother Knows Best

I'm learning a lot about my mom through all this wedding planning & I'm pretty sure she's realizing a lot of things about me too. A lot has changed since 1977 when she got married & our styles are really different. There have not been any Bridezilla moments in the Lee house, but there have been a few points of apprehension. While every girl dreams about her wedding, I am fairly confident that every girl's mother dreams much more. Like I mentioned before, I am not a detailed girl. My artsy friends call me "earthy" & simple. I take this as a compliment ;) Needless to say, there are a few decisions in which one or both parties has to "choose their battles". My mom won this one.

I was talking with a friend of mine who's also getting married soon this weekend. We were laughing about all the silly things that we want in our weddings, & all the things our moms want. There was one detail that stood out. It appears that this tradition is a must have amongst our mothers...matchbooks. I'm not going to lie, Danny & I didn't even know what matchbooks were when my mom started talking them up & getting all excited. Here is a picture for those of you who may also be ill-advised. Ladies, remember when you wed a reception is not complete without your tiny names printed on a book of matches. I was surprised at how nice they actually looked. And I told my friend Laura I would definitely be picking up a "Laura & Jon" matchbook for my future kitchen ;)

Great Minds Look Alike...

I got to bring home my wedding dress today! That's right laides, I already have it. I actually bought it 3 days after we got engaged. It was a lot of fun thanks to my very dear sister, Laura. When we walked into to this small store in Cartersville we just looked at each other thinking, there's no way we'll find anything here. We were so wrong, it was so much fun thanks to the store owner, Beverly. She is a sweet, southern woman who really just wanted to help us. I only tried on three before I found my dress. Laura is my lifeline, sanity and true confidant. All this wedding stuff really drives me nuts sometimes. I'm not really into fluff or details, but a lot of people are. When Laura and I were left alone for barely 2 seconds she said "Psttt! Go all out - get the dress!" You need someone who really gets you in moments like these. If this were a Dave & Busters commerical Laura would probably be "my fun". Thanks to her I have a beautiful dress that I'm totally comfortable in. I just couldn't reconcile in my mind that it could be that easy. Well, when you have a friend and sister like her, maybe things like this just are.

One thing that a I totally confident of is that the Lord is really bringing all the details of this wedding together. Its insane how all the pieces are coming together so quickly and easily. I was so heart broken when I thought Danny & I wouldn't be able to find a date for the wedding until much later and I prayed before going to sleep "God, we believe this is what you want. We believe that only You have brought us together and want us to labor together. We don't need 5 days to choose from, we only need one. Provide the one you want..." And He did! And He's been doing that with EVERYTHING ever since. Wow, a God that not only ordains and creates, but also cares about the details!

Flower "Princess"

My niece is really in to the Princess thing right now. She's 3 so when I wanted to ask her to be a part of our wedding I thought it might make more sense to her if I asked her if she wanted to be a flower princess - you should have seen her face! Haha, hopefully you get the idea when you see this picture. Adelaide's understanding of a wedding was throughly explained to me this summer. While hanging out with her one afternoon we watched Cinderella. Everyone knows that every Princess movie ends with a wedding and happily ever after. What you may not know, however, is that the dancing at the end of the movie is the most crucial and binding part of the wedding. According to Adelaide dancing = married. Being able to be around my older sister & her family a lot more has made being at home for a little while worth it.

Trinity

Firstly, I'm realizing how hard it is to actually keep up with this. It has been a week since my last post. Hope you girls aren't just dying in expectation! ;) Here are the flowers that the honorary bridesmaides will carry. Simple, but bright.

Its hard to write when I feel like nothing profound is coming out of my words. So instead I'll just share some words that have really encouraged me. This is the song we are going to use in our wedding. I love it, not only because Jennifer Knapp has a beautiful voice, but also because the lyrics just span the complete Gospel.

"Trinity"

You in the mirror staring back at me

Oh conscience let me be

To the pure, all things are pure

To those who're defiled, unbeliving, nothing is pure

Their minds, their conscience defiled

The profess to know God

But deceive Him by deeds all the while

Where do I stand

On the rock or in the sand?

Oh, Holy Spirit won't you help me understand?

Holy Spirit, won't You say a prayer for me?

With your groanings,

My mind, my conscience defiled

Send the blood of the lamb don't leave me in exile

What was that promise on the cross of Calvary?

Confess the Lord & the truth shall set you free

Create in me a clean heart, Oh God

Renew a steadfast spirit within me

To my prayers you've always given heed

Blessed be thy God

Who never turned away from me

Hid his face from all my sin, forgot

Forgot my iniquity

(Go on and)

Raise your hands sing praises to the Lord

He is the King and He'll reign forevermore

He died on the cross at Calvary

He died to save a wretch like me...