how to dry a bouquet

The bouquets for my sister's wedding were gorgeous. The flowers were exactly what she wanted, and after the weekend, I took her bouquet home to preserve it for her while she got ready to jet off to the honeymoon.

I used a crochet needle and yarn to string up the bouquet and hang it upside down on a hanger. It's important to hang it upside down so that the flowers keep their shape. Then into a dark, dry closet it went for two weeks to dry.

Mold or mildew may start to grow on some of the flowers, and you can easily kill this with white vinegar. It's amazing stuff. I put some white vinegar into a spray bottle to easily get to the spots I needed to.

Two weeks later...

With the flowers dried, I took them outside and used a Krylon clear spray to seal them. It's tough to get into the stems, but do it as best you can. Coat all of the leaves and flowers (and berries), and then let dry for about an hour.

I tested everything first on my bridesmaid bouquet before doing her bridal bouquet. My bridesmaid bouquet is definitely not as pretty dried as it was on the wedding day, but it is now dried and preserved. Once you've dried your bouquet, the best place for it to go is into a tissue-lined box so that nothing snaps off.

wedding Wednesday: silver and white tablescape

(excuse the iPhone photos!)

T and I attended our fourth wedding of the year this past weekend. It was our first small wedding (only about 70 people total) and had quite a few DIY touches that the bride did herself (and they looked gorgeous!). My favorite touch was probably this centerpiece wreath on our table.

I love love love the dress I wore on Saturday but was too busy on the dance floor to get a good photo, so here's a classy bathroom selfie to show you what I wore. I've loved Sue Wong dresses for a while. (I won't lie to you, I shed everywhere on Saturday night, leaving ostrich feathers behind as a reminder of my presence.)

Sue Wong dress (also love this one) // Michael Michael Kors pumps

on being engaged in America

I'm not sure if it's the American "go go go" mentality, but I noticed something this past week:  If you don't have a wedding date, a caterer, a venue, a dress, a website with details for guests... It's not enough to be engaged. It's not enough that a couple has decided to spend their lives together. It's not enough that he asked and she said yes. And it's not enough that they're starting to wedding plan but haven't been able to get very far because of their busy schedules.

Aside from the pressure of setting a date, our self-centered society has turned from excitement about an engagement to "you can't do x date because I have...". This wedding is about a marriage. If you have a prior engagement, we will understand; but I promise you that I am not going to pick a date based on everyone else's schedules.

To all of the couples in my life who have been engaged, and to whom I have excitedly asked (and maybe even multiple times) when is the wedding date, where is the wedding, details, details, and more details... Sorry! (Actually, let me go back- to those of you who are super close to me, I'm not sorry- you expected that from me. But a sorry to those I'm not close with- to coworkers, acquaintances, friends of friends.)

I am loving being engaged, day-dreaming about our perfect wedding and what I will be thinking at the altar and what he will say and how exhausted we will be from dancing the night away. So next time you see me, and the twelve times after that, rather than asking me if we have set a date yet or picked a venue, or telling me when would be most convenient for you to attend, talk to me about how fun it is to be engaged.

And when you get your save the date in the mail, then we can talk about the wedding plans. And then you can start asking me when we're going to have children.


image via

wedding Wednesday: my sister got married!

This past weekend was my older sister's wedding, and it was an incredible, perfect event. I don't have a lot of pictures, since I was kind of busy being in the wedding, but the incredible Mary was the photographer. I'm sure she will have some really great photos of the whole weekend!

Here I am with my co-maid of honor before the ceremony... I'm really not short, I swear.

The setting was gorgeous. This property in on the North Shore of Boston.

The garden where the ceremony was held was incredible.

The wedding had the perfect amount of handmade elements, like these chalkboard signs my younger sister (pictured above) crafted.

It was such a great weekend, and I was so sad on Monday that it was over! But I'm taking that as a good thing - fabulous people, gorgeous day, and one really great party.

wedding Wednesday: this week's wedding frenzy

If you know me personally, you know that this weekend my big sister is getting married! And that means my free time this week has been filled in with various (co)maid of honor duties. This weekend I tied more bows than I have ever tied in such a short period of time - because, you know, a welcome bag isn't a welcome bag unless there's a bow tied to it.

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. I got a preview of my sister in her wedding attire at her last fitting last week, and I'm so, so excited for her fiance to see her, for the food, for the dancing, and for all of the love that will be surrounding everyone there.

I'll be posting on Instagram throughout the weekend, so follow me there!

wedding Wednesday: Brittany Fuson stationery

If you aren't familiar with Brittany Fuson, you should check out her work. The two cards here are ones I purchased for two of my besties getting married. I loved that they resemble the ladies in my life.

Brittany also does custom illustrations, which would be a really cute way to ask your girls to be in your wedding or would make a unique wedding gift. nudge nudge.

Cape Cod bachelorette

I'm back from another super busy weekend on the Cape, this time for my sister's bachelorette party. It was a lot of fun, and I'm still trying to recover. Here are just a few shots from the weekend.

Each of the girls got a welcome pail that included the weekend's itinerary and a red tank to wear Saturday for our beach day.

Friday night started with welcome drinks and a catered clambake at the house. It wouldn't have been a true Cape Cod weekend without lobsters, clam chowder, and Cape Codders (cranberry juice and vodka).

Friday night ended with most of us in a pool at a bar (epic). It was a fabulous weekend, and we were all sad when it was over!

I can't believe we're already at the end of August! Until next year, beach days...

wedding Wednesday: Cape Cod wedding recap

If you follow on Instagram, you're very well aware that I was at the Cape all weekend for the wedding of one of my dearest friends. T and I then extended our trip a couple of days to spend some time with my family, so we are just getting back to work for a couple of days - before I have to head back to Cape Cod for my sister's bachelorette party! It's busy, but I don't hate it.

And now, some (a lot of) photos from this weekend's wedding.

the view from the back of the chapel 

such a cute chapel right on the water

morning getting-ready snacks 

a very busy kitchen (with our print outs of updo inspiration)

bouquet arrival! love the bride's bouquet against her floral robe

 bridesmaid bouquets

this is what happens when one of your bridesmaids happens to be a professional photographer

mid-ceremony excitement (p.s. can I have a hair and makeup artist everyday?)

besties since high school and here we are over 10 years later

 reception right on the water

best friends for 19 years! what a gorgeous bride

love, love, love these two 

my handsome date

What a whirlwind of a weekend - and my sister's wedding is now only 1 month away!

wedding Wednesday: bridal shower recap

This weekend was my sister's bridal shower, which we did as a cocktail party rather than the traditional weekend brunch.

my co-maid of honor in action, crafting chalkboard signs

the s'mores bar looked gorgeous (and tasted even better)

the gift "table" was highlighted with an inexpensive but colorfully impactful backdrop

the bride herself!

an ice cream bar featuring our childhood favorite ice cream

the bartender served up 2 signature drinks, among other things 

fresh mint for the mojitos!

All of the details took a while to put together, but it was a fabulous party (if I do say so myself). Can't wait for the wedding!

wedding Wednesday: videographers

image via Pinterest

I love wedding videos. Don't get me wrong- I also love wedding photographs, but there is something about a wedding video that shows movement and laughter and emotion (not to mention embarrassing dance moves) that can't be replicated in a single image. This week I watched two separate wedding videos from friends' weddings, and I was amazed at how well the images and the one song they chose went together to tell the story of their wedding days.

In the Boston area, wedding videographers can cost around $2,000 for the most basic package, but it is a line item I will be adding into my budget.

When else would it be entirely appropriate to have a video trailer?

wedding Wednesday: most looking forward to

T and I have only been engaged a little over 2 weeks, but I am so excited to start planning! I'm not letting myself visit venues and really dive in until my finals are done, though, so for now, here's what I'm most looking forward to.

Seeing T for the first time on the day we'll get married!

via

Having some really incredible people stand up with me

via

Asking said incredible people to stand up with me (still need to figure out how to do this - I want it to be creative!)

via

Celebrating us!

via

 And all of the pretty that goes along with the day!

via

I'm looking forward to what I hope will be an incredible experience of being engaged and planning our dream wedding. Any advice? Please feel free to leave it in a comment!