Shell Bouquet

I'm not doing a beach wedding and generally try to avoid beachy themed decorations. Then, I came across this picture.

How can you not love that?!

Brooch Bouquet Update

My official brooch shopping began today. Surprisingly, I have never bought anything on Ebay before today. After today, I'm hooked. I found some awesome deals on brooches and I had to get them. Check out some of the ones I bought.

Shoes

I've been window shopping for shoes today and I've got my eye on an awesome pair - Nina Conabel.

 

The style really suits my dress and the heel is not too high. After seeing it in red, I might just have to go with a colored shoe. 

More Venue Options

I've been scouting out a few more local venues and have been very pleasantly surprised. We still really like Marmion Park and the Heights Firestation from my last post, but I've been able to find a couple new ideas that definitely work within our budget.

The Milford House

A beautiful historic home in the museum district, The Millford house can hold up to 120 people for special events. I haven't seen any pictures of the backyard yet, but according to the information I've seen, we should be able to use it as well. If we do choose to skip a DJ, they have a plug-n-play style sound system for an iPod with speakers in the ceiling.

Avant Garden

Another historic home, this venue has several areas available to suit different needs. I just love the back patio. The price of the venue alone is very reasonable, but they do require a minimum bar tab. Once you book a party, the venue is all yours for up to 14 hours!! That is hard to beat.

Houston Outdoor Locations

I've decided to find a place a little closer to home to have our outdoor wedding without breaking the bank. The following are some of my favorite ideas.

Houston Garden Center

Photo by Tapobrata Bardhan

With all of the lovely flowers, the Houston Garden Center would make a beautiful ceremony location and wouldn't require too much extra decoration.

Marmion Park and the Heights Fire Station

Photo by Gwen Turner-Juarez

Photo by Ed Uthman

Just six blocks apart, the gazebo at Marmion Park and the historic Heights Fire Station make a wonderful combination for a ceremony and reception.

Houston Arboretem and Nature Center

The Houston Arboretum has both indoor and outdoor facilities available for weddings at reasonable rates.

Change of Venue

As much as I want my fun, outdoor, rustic-chic wedding, it is looking like we may go another route. Since the location is so far away, we've been discussing more local options. We may be renting out a hall. I've found a few near us (and our families) that have reasonable prices and they can all do pretty much everything for us. All we'll be expected to do is hand over the cash and show up. While that sounds a lot less stressful, it just doesn't sound like us. It will look like every other wedding that has taken place in that hall before.

I'm hoping we can find some sort of compromise. I don't want a Pretty, Pretty Princess day and all of the formalities that go with it. I really just want a fun party with the people we love most. I'm thinking a backyard wedding and reception would be nice. I just need to find a really big backyard.

Tomorrow we have our first appointment to check out a hall. We'll see how I feel about them after that. Who knows? I may love it.

Flower Girl Flowers

Since flower girls can get a little nervous and forget to throw their flowers (like I did in my parent's wedding), I've decided to skip the throwing. She is going to carry a floral pomander similar to the one above. I haven't decided exactly which flowers we'll be using for this, but they will definitely be red.

Bridesmaid Dresses

We've got a plan! My bridesmaids will each choose a dress from the shorter length Apple-colored dresses from David's Bridal. David's has a pretty good selection to choose from. These are some of our favorites.

S'mores

Photo from http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/

Yum! I'd like to have DIY s'mores available at the reception and a bonfire to go with them. Who doesn't like s'mores?

Centerpieces

I love the look of candle-lit Mason jars and I'd like to use that idea for our centerpieces. The high walls of the jars will help keep the candles from blowing out so we don't have to spend the whole night relighting them. Here are some of my favorite examples.