Wedding Summer 2011 Begins!

Hello all! I know I haven't posted in a long time, but it is for good reason. I have recently returned from somewhat of a destination (read: five hour drive) wedding I was in last week and this week began my 9 to 5, six days a week acting apprenticeship with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. So, needless to say, I have been running around for quite some time. But it was happy running around, for I was a bridesmaid in my dear friends' wedding on June 4th!

The wedding took place around Philly in PA, and to say that it was romantic, beautiful, and a great time would definitely be an understatement. But let me back track a little to the end of May. After my other great friend's shower and bachelorette, we had another one coming up for Abbie, our June 4th bride! I was in charge of decor for the Shower! (Remember those paper flowers I was ranting about before? Put those to good use, but more on that later!!!) Here are a few pics of how it came out. It was held at Finale; Desserterie & Bakery! (Warning: This link will make you crave sweet, sweet desserts....like NOW!)

Lunch buffet decor

"Bride" Bunting

 "Love" Bunting

I'll be sure also to post tutorials for my DIY decorations like the Bunting and the paper flowers I used for table decor, but I'm watching the length of this post so, it will have to wait for a future post. (I promise, not for as long as before). 

The Shower went off splendidly and I created a Ribbon Bouquet that she actually did use in the rehearsal the day before the wedding.

Ribbon Bouquet, the Second

Abbie, the bea-yoo-tiful bride!

For the Bachelorette, we slipped out of our garden party sundresses and into some slinky black dresses. Abbie wore hot pink and a "Bride-To-Be" sash, completed with a glowing crown. She, being lovely as she is of course, rocked it! We got together, just us bridesmaids and Abbie and had a nice dinner in Boston at Lolita's Cocina and Tequila Bar where we shared a lot of laughter, stories, and some delicious guacamole. I think this was especially nice to have some quality time with Abbie before the Wedding and just with us girls. Then we met up with some more friends and headed over to Limelight Karaoke and sang our little hearts out! We of course made a night of it, and had a wonderful time!

Bridesmaids and Bride!

At the Bachelorette Dinner!

A week or so later, it was time to head on down to Philly! We packed our little backpacks and carefully placed my bridesmaid's dress and Patrick's Best Man suit in the car and set off! We arrived to be greeted by the happy couple, their parents and more of our good friends. Wedding Summer begins. We celebrate a successful rehearsal by gathering for some delicious Italian food and touching speeches from family at the rehearsal dinner restaurant. And then, the big day arrived!

Bridesmaid dress and Best Man suit!
Looking snazzy, I might say!

It was a beautiful ceremony, personalized to suit Devin and Abbie perfectly. It was presided over by Abbie's friend, boss and priest from an Episcopal church in Boston. He traveled down to preside over the wedding and both Patrick and I really enjoyed and appreciated and felt connected to what he was saying. (It is something that we will be looking into). It was religious, and also specific to Devin and Abbie, and was meaningful for all. I cannot wait to explore this more for our own wedding!

Not only were we honored enough to be a part of the bridal party, but Patrick composed a piece of music that we, and our friends sang just before they exchanged their vows! It is a letter from Abigail Adams to her husband John set by Patrick to his utterly romantic and compelling music.

I am unable to truly define the beauty of our friends' wedding on June 4th and we are more than happy for them. It was wonderful to eat with our closest friends and dance the night away, but more importantly, it was so powerful to witness our two friends truly come together in the commitment and ceremony of marriage. It was a wonderful time and Patrick and I were so honored to be a part of their special day!

(We love you guys!!!)

A Bridal Shower Tradition....Altered!

In my last post, I mentioned an impending tutorial. Well...TA-DAH!

So, you all know the tradition of creating a ribbon bouquet for the bride at her bridal shower to use at her rehearsal dinner as a stand in bouquet. Each ribbon or bow that was that extra detail on the gifts at the bridal shower is saved for this ribbon bouquet as the bride opens her gifts.

Yeah---Kind of like this...

Well, as my friends and I planned for our friend (and one of my bridesmaids) Erica's shower, we realized that she was not doing a rehearsal for her wedding. So, since I had volunteered to make the ribbon bouquet, I decided to create instead, a ribbon fascinator. (Was I inspired by the royal wedding? Yes. Can Erica wear anything and still look beautiful? Of course.) Here's my tutorial. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures as I worked, but its a simple project...

Me, a little too excited over the creation of the Ribbon Fascinator

Needs: 1 paper plate, Ribbons from gifts from the shower collected as the bride opens them (or to be safe, bring some of your own), scissors.

Before the party:
1. First, find the center of the paper plate and cut a small, circular hole. This is for the ribbons to be tied through and may have to be adjusted as you add more!

2. (You can skip this step if you don't have the time). Decorate the underside of the paper plate! I chose to go simple: used a black calligraphy pen to inscribe the couple's names and wedding date.

At the party:
3. Layer on the ribbons! (Hopefully, the gifts brought to the shower will have tons of varieties of bows and ribbons and strings, we were lucky and got a load of different kinds. Also, the ladies tended to buy purple bows, which matched our theme. Perhaps this is because of the Bed, Bath, and Beyond wrapping!) If you are adding a stick-on ribbon bow, make sure to leave room for the larger ribbons. Loop the longer ribbons through the hole. Knot them at the bottom, close to the surface of the underside of the plate.

4. Be creative! You can leave some spilling over the sides of the plate, you can braid some of the ribbons for texture, but be sure that at least two long ribbon strings are knotted and still dangling to tie under her chin for the fascinator.

5. Tie it around her head crowning her the most sophisticated of the Bridal Shower brides!

She's so regal!

Gorgeous!

There you have it! A fun twist on the Ribbon bouquet! 

Enjoy!

Micah