Oh...you mean I have to actually make decisions?

My favorite great-aunt (who was in on my engagement surprise) and is quickly becoming my wedding coordinator/motivator in addition to my design and floral maven, gave me reality check last night when I popped over to her house for dinner after work.

"Katie", she said (let's call her Aunt Jet for the purpose of this blog)."I know you are online doing a lot of research and reading your blogs or whatever they are and seeing what you like and don't like...But you haven't made any decisions! We have a lot of things to do that we can start now so you are not a ball of stress two weeks before the wedding."

"But I like looking at other pretty weddings and dreaming!" I said.

She wasn't having it.

She made me sit down right there and make a to-do list. I have a deadline. I have to get back to her with information and decisions by the end of the week on ceremony decorations, my veil (which she is making), my reception dessert(no cake!, but can we afford it?), and the girls' bridesmaid dresses.

So I did. I made a decision.
A fingertip length mantilla veil.And just because I hate to post a blog without a picture...here are the pictures I'm sending her that I want her to model my veil after.
We're shopping for lace this weekend!

here

here


and...here

my veil budget?? $10.

my first big commitment

I did it. I finally made a decision on my centerpieces.

I've been looking almost non-stop on websites, in magazines, and at florists. I think I have been more concerned about my decorations than I have been about my dress!

My two biggest concerns were: keeping with my theme of woodsy, rustic, elegance--and finding something SUPER cheap!
Some other concerns: I wanted to put them all together myself, and if they needed to be last minute put together, they needed to be easy, I didn't want anything too tall, or too inconspicuous (hey, I'm working hard on these, they should be seen, right?!)

Here are just a few of the million ideas I've considered: (All photos should be credited towards theknot.com)

Aren't they all just so much fun?

I love the vase of apples...wish I was getting married in the fall!

But all these lovely pictures (and MANY more) were giving me idea overload. I couldn't pick what I wanted and just LOVE too many things to actually do.

Thank heavens for my wonderful aunt, who is doubling as florist, seamstress, and head wedding designer (though she would never claim the title!) finally convinced me to just make a decision and stick with it!

And I had C, my friend and BM (who is getting married just a month after us!) come along and help me to be decisive.

So we headed over to Hobby Lobby's half-price sale and I picked up these:



So 22 of these suckers were loaded into the cart...at a whopping $1.75 each!



I love them!
(And I may need to remember this in the future when I find a bigger, better idea and start getting bridal regret)

We'll be filling the bottom of the bowls with rocks (either white rocks or little river rocks, then water and mixing in white and green hydrangeas like these:





We'll tie raffia around the bowl (the bowls I got have a slight rim)

What a relief, and what a fun night with two wonderfully helpful people!

Here is C goofing around in florals


And Aunt E helping me pick a vase for my ceremony flowers...4 dozen white tulips in two big vases on pedestals at the front of church

I spent a total of $65 for 22 fishbowl vases, two large column vases and 4 rolls of rafia. Yay!

Another post on my thrifting for more decorations to come...