Wedding Cake Toppers: Part 2

I am happy to report that most of our wedding planning is moving along swimmingly!  90% of the necessary decisions have been made, and we are coming down the "home stretch."  Well, we still have over 5 months until the actual wedding, but all of the "hard stuff" is over.  We've booked the ceremony/reception venue.  I've got my dress.  We've found an officiant. We've designed all the wedding stationary.  My kick ass, wood-working father has agreed to make a lot of the reception decor, accessories, and our "wine box."  We are going to the jeweler this weekend to order our bands and I'm hoping to confirm our photographer in the coming weeks. So, for the most part, we are at a good place - planning-wise.

One thing we have no idea about is what the stupid cake is going to look like.  I like one thing, my better half likes another.  We have not decided on a shape, the flavor, the colors, or the design of the cake. After showing him what seems like a thousand *adorable* cake toppers, my future husband guy has committed to liking nothing so far.  I just want to settle on something and move on!  My goal is to have every single possible thing completed at least a month (or two!!) before the wedding so I am not a ball of stress leading up to the Big Day.

As we are incorporating a lot of wood elements into the reception (thanks, Dad!), I thought it would be great to tie in that element with our cake topper.  My "wooden cake topper" finds:

Custom wood cake topper with bunting banner. So cute! But my better half doesn't like "bunting" cake toppers. :(

State cake topper with custom wood burning.

Wood monogram cake topper.

Single rustic wooden monogram.

Vintage heart in mahogany with custom initials.  Some friends of ours used this vendor for their cake topper and it was amazing (and super customized to fit their wedding theme)!

Custom banner AND custom silhouette bamboo cake topper. This is probably the neatest thing I've ever seen.

While technically clay, this custom tree trunk topper is so cute! It helps that all the flowers are in our wedding colors...

Simple painted wooden bride and groom cake toppers.

Custom tunes wedding cake topper.  (You pick the artist/album for the 2 tiny records.)

Since I have wasted invested a crap load of time into finding the perfect cake topper, and have found nothing that we both like, I've told my better half that this task is now his responsibility.  He is in charge of finding and procuring the thing that will sit atop our wedding cake.  What's the worst that could happen?!  (Don't answer that.)

Halloween Pins

On this lovely Halloween Day, I'd like to share some neat Halloween-inspired finds I've been adding to my Halloween board on Pinterest.

One of a kind "Skelly Man" sculpture.

Zombie legs bookmark.

Sterling silver ghost necklace.

Witch finger cookies.

Zombie flesh heels.

Miniature clay halloween village.

Braaaaaains cupcakes.

Zombie pinata.

Laser cut wood bats.

Cake ball eyeballs.

Happy Halloween, Peeps! Try not to get bitten, mauled, spooked, haunted or turned into anything unsavory. :)

New Lovey Dovey Tag Samples

As I am writing this, I am picturing Renee Zellweger in my mind, talking like her character from Cold Mountain, teasing Ada (Nicole Kidman's character):  "Miss Lovey-Dovey! Miss Lovey-Dovey!" 

Such a great movie...  Anyway!  Here are a few recent custom tag orders that are romantic in nature.

More Queens Than You Can Shake A Stick At

Earlier this month I went on my first ever adult gal pal trip.  It was just me and one of my dearest friends, exploring and galavanting around Key West, Florida, for 4 days.  Months before, my friend and I had decided we needed to take a trip together.  At the time, I told her that I didn't care where we went.  So, I allowed her to pick our trip's destination.  She chose Key West.  I was a little worried at first as I am not really into going to the beach or "hanging out" in public places.  Before this trip, it had been 7 years since the last time I laid out in the sun, and I had never been to a "club" before.  Fearing my skin burning off and complete social awkwardness, I was a little nervous....

I made these tags for my friend in preparation for our trip.  She is more obsessed with Lord of the Rings than I am, so I thought this quote by Bilbo Baggins (as said in the Fellowship movie) was perfect for our trip.  One might be wondering about the "Dildo Baggins"....one of the first things I bought off Etsy was this for the same friend that I made the tags for.  So it's kind of a joke between us.  It's nice to have friends that appreciate class. :)

However! I am happy to report that the trip was an absolute delight. I had the most fabulous time!  Tasteful amounts of alcohol probably helped ease the process and allowed me to really enjoy myself without giving a crap about looking stupid while I was dancing or carrying on a conversation. The best part of the trip was that every night we would go to drag shows. After attending a few, we determined that our favorite shows were held at Aqua.  The Queens there were so amazing and talented!

"Cher" invited me onstage to discuss my upcoming nuptials.  Her comments were not suitable for repeating here. ><

My absolute favorite at Aqua - Jessica!

When we weren't attending drag shows, we spent our afternoons taking in the "touristy" activities of Key West.

 We visited the Hemingway House (with the 6-toed cats).

 We scaled to the top of a lighthouse and saw a great view of the city....town?

We found the Southern Most Point in the United States.

  We partook in a sunset "booze cruise."

During our brief stay we also went snorkeling - unsuccessfully.  The seas were very rough, so I didn't see jack crap underwater, but I did swallow a gallon of seawater.  Bleh.  Later, we roamed around Duval Street and had Key Lime pie on a stick. It was good times indeed!

Being back home has been nice, though.  I missed my Catty and my fiance guy.  

Next trip --- honeymoon!

Holiday Craft Market

In a few weeks I will be participating in a holiday craft show in Northeastern Massachusetts.  This is the first show I have done that was held in a school, and I am quite excited! :)  I've also convinced my fiancé guy that I require his assistance, and he has agreed to accompany me!  Now I don't have to worry about my wares sitting all alone by themselves while I deal with hauling in my table and finding a home for the car.  I do feel slightly guilty about this, but he'll have a book to read, so hopefully he will be entertained. I'll buy him lunch. =)

I am proud to say that I have already started making ready-made items for this show.  Though, I have only made 15% of the items that I'd like to have made.  Time to get workin'!!

Bouquet or Not to Bouquet

In the scary journey that is wedding planning, I have come across many dilemmas.  One of these dilemmas is Do I really need a bouquet?  Below are my thoughts on having a bouquet at my wedding.

CON
-covers up my pretty dress as I am walking down the aisle
-can be expensive
-pointless (purely decorative element that is used for 15 minutes)

PRO
-another means to express myself
-can be pretty


I know for a fact that I won't pay money for a fresh flower bouquet.  At the moment, the bouquet options that I have (if I end up using a bouquet at all) are:

-pick fresh flowers from my grandfather's yard the morning of the big day and simply wrap the stems in ribbon and be done with it

<<< OR >>>

-make/buy a brooch bouquet


While the flowers from the yard will be *free,* brooch bouquets are so GD pretty!!  Here's a few of my favorites.

RedsMoonsDesigns

Noaki

VandivaBridal

HairbowsWonderworld

HairbowsWonderworld

JuliaTruett

MyUniqueEffects

While I know that getting a brooch bouquet would fall under the CON list as "can be expensive," it may be something that I just have to splurge on.  A lot people make their own, but I don't have time to hunt down 50-80 vintage brooches and then make them into something pretty.  I've already got a ton of DIY projects that have to be done, and I really don't want to add something else to that.  Now, just to decide on what option is right for me: bouquet or no bouquet.   :)

Our Save the Date!

A few weeks ago we mailed out our Save the Dates.  They really don't follow the theme of our wedding at all (besides the Tiffany Blue*ish color).  While we were in Peru in August, mere days after getting engaged, my fiancé guy suggested we include a certain photo on our Save The Dates. In the photo, our cat is peering down at me from the top of our kitchen cabinets, just staring at me with his big eyeballs while I work. While we are not super crazy cat people (Rasputin will have no part in our wedding), for some reason we both felt that our STD needed this picture on it.  What can I say, I have found my partner in weirdness! :)

I got them printed at Moo and was quite pleased. The STDs (Best. Wedding. Acronym. Ever.)  are actually not as bright in person, which I prefer.

This is actually the back of our Save the Date.  The front features a simple text block with a sentimental quote about the significance of the wedding date.  6 months to go!!

Symbol Grouping on Leather Tags

Recently, I was able to make some wedding favor tags that incorporated a variety of symbols.  I love the visual interest that the grouping of the symbols in the corner offers.  This is also the first time I have stamped a layout like that used on these tags, so it was quite fun to try something new.