DIY Wedding Wish Tree + Giveaway!

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As I was planning my own wedding, I knew I did not want a traditional guest book.  I went back and forth on what exactly I DID want… narrowing it down to something pretty, something unique, and something I could use again or use to decorate my house.

I ended up going with two things.  1.  A DIY sign for my house, that all of our guests signed during Cocktail Hour and  2. A Wedding Wish Tree.

I spent hours googling to find perfect Wedding Wish Tree.  Like I said, I really wanted it to be unique, and since Wish Trees have become more and more common at weddings - I definitely wanted something that fit the look of our celebration: Classy and Glam, with a touch of Fun.  To save money I put my event design skills to work and I made my own Wedding Wish Tree.  
 
 
Wedding Wish Tree

 
   
Wish Tree Decoration for Wedding
  

  
DIY Wedding Wish Tree Tags
   
  

So, as a professional wedding planner, why do I love Wedding Wish Trees?

1  //  They are pretty!  I’m all about event details and a Wish Tree give a nice touch to any celebration.

2  //  It was a conversation starter!  Wedding Wish Trees get people up and out of their seats!  Put it near a dance floor {not on top of it, but near it} and encourage guests to mingle!

3  //  Unfortunately we didn’t get to talk to everyone at our wedding.  Reading back through all of our tags was so much fun and a great excuse to call people up a month or two later!  {We actually didn’t read through our tags until 5 months after our wedding!  Whoopsie!}

4  //  Believe it or not, I am still using my tree!  I decorate it seasonally and have white Christmas lights hanging on it now.  It’s a great reminder of our wedding… something I walk past daily.  
  
I love how our friends and family put thought into their notes to us!  Some of them were sentimental, some were terrific words of advice, and some were just down right hilarious.   Here, have yourself a giggle: 
  

Funny Wedding Advice for Bride and Groom

Advice for Bride and Groom

Note to Bride and Groom on wedding day

Funny advice for newlyweds

Wishes for Newlyweds
So you want to make your own?  Here’s what you need:
I bought mine at Garden Ridge {They cost me less than $30 for all of them.}  Make sure they are strong enough to hold your decorations.  I also purchased white sticks, so it was less work.  But you can easily spray paint them!

A vase or container to hold the sticks. 
Make sure it is something tall and narrow, but with a wide enough mouth to hold the branches.  Buy something that goes with your theme!  If you have a rustic themed wedding, consider a large mason jar, a bucket, etc.   
Don’t forget to buy the candles for these!  I forgot and sent a friend out the morning of my wedding to buy them.  I recommend fake tea candles. 
  
I went the DIY route with these also.  I purchased the tags in a variety of sizes and colors.  I decorated them with stamps and ink, glitter, and purple bakers twine.

Don’t forget:  You may want to make a sign, explaining the tree to guests.  You should also include at least 5 pens!

 
 
Did you use a Wish Tree for your wedding?  Did you get any funny advice from your friends and family?  

Also!!  I am teaming up with a bunch of lovely ladies to make it rain!!  That’s right, it’s not too late to get yourself entered to win some serious MOOLAH!  I mean really, who doesn’t like money?  And who doesn’t like winning money?  Yeah… that’s what I thought!  Here ya go!


Today I am linking up with: 



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Wedding Wednesday: Our Intro and First Dance!

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Once upon a time, there was the best party ever.  It was the best mix of glitter, elegance, craziness and glam one could ever achieve.  There was a lot of prep, jesus, details, and photo booth cheesing.  Let us not forget about the outstanding intro into the reception with the worlds largest wedding party, and a not-practiced-enough first dance!
{Before we continue with a photo dump I need you to crank up your speakers so you can fully appreciate our grand introduction.}
  

 
 
Now personally, I feel like the way you start your reception is crucial if you want to ensure a successful evening.  If you want a FUN atmosphere, you have to make it fun!  {Same goes if you want a laid back, relaxed reception… the first ten minutes of your reception sets the mood for the rest of the evening.}  
 
We wanted fun.  So we told all of our parents and wedding party members to go in, dance it out, and have a good time.  Most of them looked at me like I was crazy…  Then I told them they had to wear feather boas or gold top hat, at which point I thought about half of them {the guys} were going to refuse - but in the end they were all great sports!  Great sports who spent the evening covered in excessive glitter, might I add.  
 
 
 My in-laws:
 
Hampton Wedding Grand intro

My folks:
Parents Introduction into Reception

One of our “Ring Security Guards!”  {The other was with the babysitter at this point.}
Wedding Ushers, Grand Intro into Reception

Our two ushers from Switzerland {my cousins} and our “Happy Helper” {a dear friend from high school}:

My two sisters-in-law and one of my bro’s-in-law:

Two of my college roomies and my other bro-in-law!

Another college roomie, Mike’s friend since grade school, and my closest friend since first grade!

Let me preface this next one by saying I was really proud of everyone’s intros… BUT when I told people to get crazy and have fun, I knew these three would bring their A-Games.  Meet our two Honorable Matrons {both are two of my BFFs} and a Bestman {who has been one of Michael’s best friends for years.}  Way to go guys.  I think y’all even showed up our entrance!

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen Fun Wedding Intro

Fun Bride and Groom Wedding Reception Intro with Boa and Top Hat
Fun right??  Once we were all out on the dance floor, the dj cued our first dance.  We picked one that not many people had even heard of.  It was one that I had randomly found years ago while surfing YouTube.  I absolutely love this song, not just for it’s soul, but the lyrics are great.  {Cue music change in the youtube box below…}
Michael decided {a month before our wedding!!} that he wanted to take dance lessons.  Since this seemed important to him, and I was terribly afraid he wouldn’t dance with me otherwise (!!) so we went ahead and squeezed in 6 private dance lessons.  I highly recommend this to anyone who is getting married.  Even if you want to spend your first dance relaxing and not counting “1, 2, 3…” in your head - this was almost like marriage counseling for us!  It was a wonderful way to spend time together, learning something new.  I would just encourage you to start 6 months out, not 6 weeks out.

{If you are local I highly recommend Amy’s!  She was a great teacher who put up with our quirky traits and lack of skills.  We learned a lot!  But to be honest, we were both too afraid to call her up after our wedding to tell her how we did… Our dip was a little iffy to say the least!}

Without further ado, here are a few snap shots of our first dance: 

We started out slow, doing the middle school shuffle… we didn’t tell anybody about our dance lessons, so we were hoping to surprise them a bit!  This first picture is one of my favorites because, to me, it captured that one moment of “we have a secret that nobody knows…” and “holy crap, here we go!”
Keb Mo, Our First Dance

Bride and Groom First dance after lessons

 

Our first twirly spin {can’t you tell I learned a lot about the technical dancing terms??} when our guests realized we were actually dancing.  {Or trying to…!} 
  

First Dance, shocking our guests! Hampton Roads Chamberlin Wedding

First Dance for Bride and Groom - Virginia Weddings - 29:11 Celebrations

To be fair, Amy, if you are reading this - our dip looked a heck of a lot better in our video… I swear!
First Dance, bride and groom, virginia

Fun first dance pictures

After the wedding first dance kiss!
Even though our facial expressions are rediculous and you can tell we were so worried about getting the right steps, I wouldn’t have changed anything!  {Other than possibly practicing with a giant dress on… that would’ve helped!}  Happy Wedding Wednesday friends!  As always, thanks for joining me while I take a little stroll down memory lane.  I can’t believe this celebration was just a mere 9 months ago!  Time flies!  Catch ya next week for another glimpse into the party!  
As always, I’m linking up with these lovely gals:
Belle in Boots

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My favorite Wedding Pictures: The Photo Booth

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Holy Guacamole!  It’s Wednesday!  Better yet, it’s 6:30PM on Wednesday.  Where did my week /slash/ day go?!  I told myself I needed to hunker down and get a ton of work done for my marketing job today - which is exactly what I did.  Huzzah!  Except I didn’t squeeze in enough time this AM to bust out my Wedding Wednesday post.  
Today - my plan was to bring you the wedding reception.  But I changed my mind.  I’m actually going to share some of my all time favorite wedding pictures with you today… pictures from our Wedding Photo Booth.  You got a little preview in my “What Husband’s Should Know” post earlier this week.  
Just Married in Wedding Photo Booth


Seriously y’all.  I went back and forth with the idea of having a photo booth.  I’ve seen them done sooooo many times.  Sometimes in a booth, sometimes just against a wall.  Sometime they look super cheesy, every now and then they look semi classy.  Sometimes they print copies for the guests, sometimes it’s all digital.  I honestly just wasn’t sure if our guests were even going to use the photo booth or not.  So I just signed the photographer’s contract and moved on.
I didn’t think much about it, until my now-husband had asked me about our wedding photography.  I vaguely remember him saying “You didn’t end up getting that weird photo booth, did you?”
“Um, yes sir we did!”  And I’m so thankful for it!  I sure hope you are ready for a photo overload, because I’m going to throw them at ya!  Check out these incredibly fun, yet not super cheesy-photo-booth photos our photographer captured throughout our reception:
Groomsmen in Black and Dark Purple - photo booth

Matron of Honor and Bride in Photo booth

Dancing in the wedding photo booth

Funny Wedding Photo Booth Pictures

JMU Alumni at Wedding in Hampton Roads, VA

Echard Wheeler Photo Booth

Bridal Bling in Wedding Photo booth

Hampton Wedding Photo Booth

Photo Booth by Echard Wheeler

Wedding Photo Booth by Hampton Roads Wedding Planner 29:11 Celebrations

Photo Booth at a Classy Wedding

Wedding Photo Booth - Virginia Beach

Photo Booth Fun at a wedding

Father and Son

Bridesmaid singing in wedding photo booth!

Wedding Photo Booth Props

Husband and Wife Wedding Photo Booth Props

Do we look like a fun group of people or what?!  It took me about an hour to narrow down the photo booth pictures I wanted to share today.  They all just capture so much emotion, hilarity and joy.  I know these snap shots are silly, but they mean so much to me.  They captured some of my most favorite people, having the time of their lives. They also make my wedding reception look like absolute chaos {which, to be honest, I feel like the photographer and videographer spent most of the night just chasing me around like I was a 6 year old on a sugar high} but it was a fun chaos.  A really, really fun, but organized chaos.  
I know I’m late to the game {as it is almost 7PM!} but today I’m linking up with:
NC Belle In Boots

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PS!  It’s not too late to enter to win!  For giveaway deets click here!

Wedding Wednesday: Aunt Flo Wasn’t Invited (Plus a Free Sample!)

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Happy Wednesday Girls!  I am on the road for work this week but wanted to stop in for a little Wedding Wednesday action!  But there’s a catch.  Since I’m not at home {and was almost hotel-less last night! A story I will share another day…} I decided I would do a Wildcard Wedding Wednesday post rather than just simply dragging you down good ole memory lane, recollecting my day full of love and glitter.
   
So today, I’m letting you in on a little secret:  
   
Me, the crazy, OCD wedding planner that I am… I was even concerned with *GASP* my undies (!!) on my wedding day!  
   
But seriously?!  Who isn’t!? 
   
Of all days in your life… you may really want to put some thought into your wedding undies.
   
I know, I know.  TMI right?  But let’s be real.  There’s a lot of planning that goes into your wedding day… And we can’t forget what to wear, under there!  I was super thankful that my bachelorette gals threw me a mini lingerie bash.  I stocked up and I didn’t even have to go shopping!  {Because bra and underwear shopping is almost as bad as spending the day at the DMV.  Am I right?}
   
Cute and Comfy, via Target. 
  
Getting ready, Lounge Worthy.  Via Target.

  

Or something lacy and sexy?  Again, via Target.
  
The whole point {other than saying our i do’s and marrying the man we love, of course} is that we want to look our finest, feel the prettiest we can possibly feel, and spend our wedding day on cloud nine as a confident, married lady, who is ready to party!  That doesn’t just happen with the gown.  It includes the earrings, the veil, the garter, and the undies.  
  
 Kotex

Kotex Save the Undies 3D Capture

   

I would like to introduce you to the new U by Kotex® Ultra Thin Pads with 3D Capture Core. What does all that mean?!  It means that these pads have a one-of-a-kind center that locks away wetness to help stop leaks. They are perfect for protecting your wedding white undies, not to mention your wedding gown!  They allow you to spend your day having fun and tying the knot without worrying about your crazy ole Aunt Flo crashing the reception.


   Kotex in Bridal Bag
   
U by Kotex® would like to help you SAVE YOUR {wedding} UNDIES!  So how about a free sample to toss into your bridal bag?  Just click over here: Free Sample of U by Kotex Pads

   
New Kotex Pads #Savetheundies
And as a social media junkie, I can’t wrap up this blog post without mentioning that I’m pretty obsessed with their witty hashtag:  #savetheundies
  
So gals, answer me this - what did you, or what will you be wearing {under there} on your wedding day?  
{Or do I not want to know?!}
  
I promise I will be back next Wednesday with some of my favorite reception photos for you!  If you want to catch up on some of the past, glitter filled, Wedding Wednesday Posts you can see them here.
  
As always, I’m linking up with these lovely gals:

NC Belle In Boots

  
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Many thanks to U by Kotex for sponsoring today’s post.

Hampton Virginia, Wedding Ceremony

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Last week was quite a bit befuddling for me.  Secretly trying to escape the east coast and head to Vegas without it hitting the social media fan was tough.  I made it.  There AND back.  But it absolutely positively debunked my entire blog schedule (not to mention sleep schedule! - Look out Sunday morning because I’m sleeping through you!) 
 
Let’s not forget that the #2catsWhole30 has started!  And we have about 45 people on board!  To keep my mind off of the fact that all I want right now, on Day One, is inhale a Snickers, a glass of wine, and a poptart - let’s just keep up with the fun that had been: it’s Wedding Wednesday!
 
It has taken everything in me to not share the fun reception pictures with you.  My wedding reception was my masterpiece.  To be quite frank, I didn’t even plan a darn thing for the ceremony until the week prior.  But - we can’t have a reception if we don’t have a ceremony first right? Same is true in blogland. 
  
So here we have it - our wedding ceremony!
 
DIY Wedding Program Printed at Home
I decided to not spend an arm and a leg on our stationary.  My sister helped me design our invitations, while I created programs on my own.  I used the best shimmery card stock and simply printed them on my own computer (two per page, then cut them in half.)  We also wanted to keep things fun, so I added one fun fact about each of our wedding party members.  
The Chapel of the Centurion was not my first choice.  I had planned on having the ceremony at the same location as our reception but my family nixed that idea.  This chapel was quant and more importantly, close by.  I didn’t want our guests driving a far distance in between the wedding ceremony and the reception.  The coolest part about The Chapel of the Centurion was that it was located behind the Fort Monroe walls.  You literally have to go through an old, historic fort’s walls to get there!
Chapel of the Centurion, Fort Monroe, Hampton Virginia Wedding

Hampton Roads Virginia, My Wedding Violinist, Steve Campbell
My good friend Steve Campbell of My Wedding Violinist played before and after our ceremony.  Months later and my grandmother is still raving about how perfect it was to have him play.  (And he plays all over Virginia if you are looking for a violinist!)
I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall for whatever conversation was going on between our two dads (below.)  They clean up well though, don’t they?!
Father of the Bride and Father of the Groom before Wedding ceremony, Hampton VA

Hampton, Virginia - Fort Monroe Wedding - Chapel of Centurion
We didn’t have a flower girl, but we did have two ring security guards.  The bow ties and t-shirts were all DIY between me and a couple bridesmaids.  How stinkin’ cute are these kiddos?!  Benjamin (dark hair) came all the way from Switzerland to fulfill his duties, while Anthony (the blonde) traveled from New Mexico.  They boys took their job very seriously, can’t you tell?!
Ring Security Ring Bearers! DIY Shirts and Bow Ties for Ring Bearer

Bridesmaids in Eggplant Purple Dresses, Virginia Weddings

Wedding Ring Security, Ring Bearers with Glittery boxes!
For some strange reason, my dad and I all-out sprinted down the aisle.  Afterwards, so many guests kept asking why we were walking so fast.  Honestly, it’s all a blur to me!  I guess we were just in a hurry to get the show on the road!  
Father walks bride down aisle, augusta jones bobbi wedding gown

Wedding Ceremony in Hampton Virginia
What the camera missed here was my dad “showing” Michael that he would be watching him!  If you didn’t know my dad, it would’ve easily been mistaken as a threat.  I love the look he has on his face as he is walking back to the pew… almost the same look Jack Bauer has as he takes down the bad guys and narrowly escapes trouble.  #badass

Funny wedding ceremony moments

Hampton Roads Weddings, Chamberlin Wedding
Apparently something funny happened.
Bride and Groom funny wedding ceremony moments
And then things got real.
And then we got married!
Bride and Groom Kissing! Hampton, Virginia Wedding
Then we had a singing flash mob in the church to sing us out…  Two of my good friends randomly stood up, for no good reason, other than to sing “Oh Happy Day!”  Then the bridesmaids, grooomsmen, and parents all joined in with singing and clapping.  No big deal or anything.  It’s not like we are rockstars, that’s just how we roll.
Singing Flash Mob at Wedding Ceremony

Husband and Wife Wedding Ceremony Exit

 
So there you have it friends!  We are officially married!  Did you do anything fun or unique for your wedding ceremony?  How much time did you put into the ceremony planning?
As always, I’m linking up with these two gals today:

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