Etsy Love, Part 2: Accessories

Back in the planning stages, I told you about my intentions to purchase ties for the groom and best men from Cyberoptix TieLab and my hair accessory from Portobello. Well, purchase we did, and they were awesome.

I think these photos speak for themselves, but if not, I'll tell you that we got compliments all day on both the ties and my hair clip. And, with the hair clip, the day that I went to get my hair and makeup trials, I wore it from appointment to appointment, and people were stopping me about every 15 minutes to freak out over how cute it was. I loved it. In fact, I still do, and am planning to break it out whenever the occasion might suit.

Photos by Aaron Thompson

Etsy Love: Holly Stalder

Etsy is just about the greatest thing to ever happen to brides. Ever. Have you found yourself browsing the traditional bridal vendors, only to find nothing that strikes your fancy? Or worse yet, finding out that the thing that strikes your fancy is three times what you can afford to pay? Etsy has your answers! Seriously, whether it's fashion accessories, gifts for the wedding party, or decorations for your reception, you can probably find it on Etsy. Or at least find someone to make it for you. Though I love promoting San Diego vendors that are doing a great job, I found some Etsy vendors that positively made my wedding what it was. I plan to spend the next few posts telling you about the many Etsy vendors that I used.

First up: Holly Stalder. I first discovered her designs on Style Me Pretty when I saw this wedding featured (you'll notice that the bride is wearing a Nicole Miller gown -- I also wore Nicole Miller). After browsing her shop online, I knew that I had to have Holly design something for me. I sent her a convo, and we got started. I told her what I liked, what sort of style I was going for, and sent her pictures of me in my gown. She responded with suggestions, sent me some fabric swatches, and the designing began. She checked in along the way, letting me know how the process was going and sending pictures. When the finished product arrived, I was blown away. I couldn't believe how seamlessly it tied my whole outfit together.

Unfortunately, I don't have a great head-to-toe photo of my in the shrug. I started out wearing it at the reception, but got super hot from dancing and ended up having it off for longer than I anticipated. But people raved about how adorable it was.

Photos by Aaron Thompson

The Devil is in the Details

Here are some details from the vintage, bohemian decor that we tried to cultivate, both crafted by professionals and by our own hands. Our goal was to find venues that already had very strong visual elements and atmosphere, and simply play off those. Which we did, and I highly recommend letting your venue steer your decorations. It's much cheaper than starting from scratch trying to create an atmosphere that isn't there at all.

Ring pillow: made by me, based off of a project I saw on OnceWed.com

Flower urns at altar: Che Bella

Flowers above and in fountain: my sister, with a little help from some friends

Drink pitchers*: purchased at Cost Plus and Target. I made the little wooden tags, and my friends helped set them up that morning

Flowers on chairs: Che Bella

Menu: done by Bleu Boheme

Favor cards: designed and printed by Inkfancy. The cards state that in lieu of favors, we gave a donation to Stand Up 2 Cancer. But we did affix some fun little buttons, with design elements from our invitations, to each favor card (ordered from Minepress)

Table scape: Flowers by Che Bella, jars* found by me after scouring Ebay and Craigslist. We found more than 150 jars, but doesn't sound like much, but the whole restaurant was positively overflowing with flowers. The table runners were made by JT's mom with fabric I found on TonicLiving

Images by Aaron Thompson with a couple additions from Spencer Tuck.

*Looking for something similar for your own wedding? I'm selling these!

Dress You Up in My Love

Alright, after falling off the blogging bandwagon in November and December due to the wedding, honeymoon, and holidays, I'm back and ready to share more details with you. But rather than tell you about the details, I'll show you. Let's start with some fashion nuggets.

The dress is Nicole Miller, a wonderful designer for brides that are not interested in spending $3,000 on a gown, but still want to look fashion forward.
The shoes are Belle by Sigerson Morrison, amazingly found on sale at Piperlime.
The purse? That's a fantastic find that my sister picked up at a church yard sale! I couldn't believe the luck at how well it matched the shoes. The little broach and ribbon were additions courtesy of Holly Stalder, who made the broach to match the custom shrug I ordered from her, shown below.

The bridesmaids dresses were the ever popular J. Crew. I thought the ladies looked gorgeous! The men wore their own suits with ties from Toybreaker. The flower girls from JT's side of the family wore their own dresses with green sashes made by JT's mom. My niece wore a dress from SweetPlume, and my sister made her own fabulous feather hairband.

The feather hairpiece was made by Portobello -- I got so many compliments on it! And the earrings? Another great random find at Macy's for only $30!

All images by Aaron Thompson.