Wedding Belles

My friend Jenn recently got engaged to Skip (you might recall- he's the handyman around here) and I am helping plan her wedding. Weddings have become a passion of mine, so I love to help out a friend and share everything I've learned from working for The South's Premiere Wedding Photographer. I thought I would put up some pictures from my friend Anna's wedding in Seattle last year. I did the flowers, decor, and was a bridesmaid to boot! It was a hectic time but it turned out to be such a lovely wedding, and on a very tight budget too! Would you believe I did flowers, favors, bridesmaid accessories and decor for $500? Anna found her beautiful dress for $100 so all in all, we were able to take care of everything besides the food, invitations, and venue for a pretty decent amount, especially compared to some weddings nowadays.

The bride's bouquet- I used white roses, gardenias, and white ranunculus. I found some beautiful satin ribbon at one of my favorite stores, At Home, in Savannah, and brought it all the way up to Seattle to tie off these pretty flowers. My very first time making one, and I'm looking forward to doing Jenn's!

The space was already so lovely, we just sprinkled some flowers throughout.

I hot glued a hot mess of pearls onto the base of this candle!

I did all the bridesmaid bouquets, smaller versions (minus gardenias) of the Anna's. We also found shoes for $20 a pair on ebay and had everyone wear a black dress they already owned. We tied an aqua blue ribbon around the waist and voila! Instant bridesmaid for not much cash.

The favors were simple tealights with floral ribbon and stickers I printed out at home. The other side says A & B, for Anna and Bryan.

Ok so it isn't the most fabulous balustrade drapery you'll ever see, but wait'll you hear what I did it with- IKEA curtains! I found some aqua fabric for $20 and purchased white gauzy ikea curtains, $5 for two. The whole thing cost $30. 

To delineate an aisle, I simply stapled floral ribbon in her color to the carpet. The china cabinets couldn't be moved, so more IKEA curtains came to the rescue, along with a wooden A and B painted white and hung from more floral ribbon.

Prize

A year ago I was helping my mother move and we were on a cross country road trip. We found ourselves in Ashland, OR and there I discovered one of "those stores that I like" which are always so hard to find. You know the ones: Tocca Candles, vintage delights, globes, coral & shells, Taschen books, faux bois. It's difficult to find stores that are of this caliber (unless you are in Savannah!) but Ashland delivered in the form of Prize.  I found the Keep Calm Carry On print that hangs in my bedroom there and the shopkeeper Jennifer is oh so sweet. If you're ever in the area do check it out.

Oldies but cupcakes

Triscuit takes her usual stance of hiding when strangers are over

Michelle shows off Mango's Alaskan outfit

Halfway melted but still delicious- Kahlua snowcones! Adults need snowcones too.

Another invention- seal calzones! Filled with cheese and herbs, these little guys had   peppercorn faces and were yummy.

I always label my food at parties so that people know what they're eating and don't have to ask, especially the vegetarians (like me!). 

Ok so we don't have penguins in Alaska (let alone marzipan ones!) but some of the party was about Alaskan stereotypes, like this igloo cake!

A party like this one must have smoked salmon and salmon dip! My dad would be proud, as he's the Seafood Messiah.

These candlesticks make an appearance at most of my parties but I simply paint or dress them to be fitting. This time it was with snowflakes and paper icicles. Easy to do and very fitting, especially if you get dollar store candles to switch out your colors.

    The piece de resistance- polar bear cupcakes! How precious are these? 

Due to merciless thieves, my camera and phone are no longer in my possession, making the delightful before and after pictures of the paint job in the dining room impossible to post. While I wait for a new camera, I have decided to post some pictures of parties from years past. I would LOVE to show you the dining room but we'll just have to wait.

These are from this year's Alaska Party. In honor of my friend Margaux visiting, I decided to have an Alaskan themed winter gathering. I was a little homesick at the time, so smoked salmon and wintery decor were just the thing!

Hamburgler

I got the best housewarming gift! A hamburger phone! It was a favorite prop of mine from the movie Juno, especially considering that it is actually a cheeseburger phone, but it says "hamburger" on it. Anyway my friend Michelle gave it to me and I was so delighted I thought I'd share it. Great gift!

Sign of the Times

From the movie- LOVE it.

My own version.

Here's a little weekend post about signage here at Unicorn Villa: I created a pool sign for the front door, which is simple and cute, so visitors and UPS men would know someone was indeed home. That sign has been hung a lot this summer!

Second: Handyman Extraordinaire Skip was able to hang the flag pole (hammer drill needed!) for the Big R Flag, which represents my last name. I always loved the Royal Tenenbaums Flag and that movie inspired my choice to pursue a career in film. The T Flag is one of the top things (second only to the game closet, I'm currently working on my collection of vintage board games) from the movie that I am tying into my own home because they were just so fabulous. Of course the Tenenbaum's Flag is much better as it is pink and on a finial, but we try as best we can. Later ideas include a pirate flag for Halloween and an Alaskan flag for my home state. 

Chandelier Creative

Ok I've been off for a few days working but now I want to share something I've been wanting to do for a while: a cabana chandelier! It's hard to get a good picture- I'm no Patrick Williams but I tried.

I happened in Urban Outfitters of all places yesterday and have been looking for a plastic chandelier of sorts for outdoors. I didn't want anything that was really valuable for obvious reasons but also glass (or crystal) by the pool can't be a good idea. I spotted this interesting creation near the sale section and it was $48.99 marked down to $19! I made them take it down as they didn't have any others besides what was hanging and what do you know, when we rang up it was actually $9.99! I was so excited! The perfect cabana chandelier for under $10, don't you think? Operation Backyard Boutique Hotel continues!

Backyard Oasis

Enjoying the new table and chairs- a big score from Pottery Barn's floor sale.

The umbrella goes so well with the cabana, I adore when things work out like that!

Beautiful morning light over the pool

Striped chaise pillows tie in the brown loungers that came with the pool and are so expensive to replace so I'm making it work.

I finally got all the furniture I needed to set up the backyard to be like a boutique hotel. We were going for California chic, so that we always feel on vacation when out there. We threw an impromptu bbq and pool party, and it was fantastic! Lots of people brought food, and I even met neighbors that I didn't know yet. The next morning, I walked out to clean up and saw the most amazing light filtering through the backyard. It looked so pristine I just had to share!