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DIY Invitations by Carrie and Nathan

September 23, 2009 by Christina

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

I told Nathan early on that the invitations were probably the most important pre-wedding piece of planning a wedding. Now since he is the real creative one in this relationship, I guess that put a little undue pressure on him because ultimately we are planning a marriage! But it worked to our advantage as I LOVE love love our DIY invitations. They are different. They are us. They are handmade. They didn’t break the bank. And, I hope they created a bit of wonderment and discovery for our guests.

We knew we wanted to do them ourselves, and that we didn’t have a huge budget. I also wanted Nathan to draw something for them since he is an illustrator. Our first idea was similar but we were using too many ideas to make them – we had photos, post-it notes, writing, stickers. I loved them, but Nathan decided to do a rework one day while I was at the job. When I got home I realized I loved them even more now!

The invitation has 3 parts. The love story (we created a little book about our love story), the actual invitation, and the map. Our materials were chipboard (from Pearl art supply), paper (from Kinkos), stickers (from kinkos), the darling-est “Admit One” tickets (from Papier Valise), book binding tape (from Paper Source), rubber bands, paper clips, dried moss, and card boxes (from Papermart).

If we had planned a little better, we wouldn’t have lost some money in “trial and error” with the copy machines at Kinkos. But we made good friends with one of the copy boys, and the invitations sparked Nathan’s overall creative energy. The invitations took about 2 weeks to make.

Here ya go!

diy wedding invitations

diy invitations [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bride Bloggers, DIY Stationery, DIY Wedding | Leave a Comment

Love Poems

September 18, 2009 by Christina

carey By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

I bought Love Poems by Pablo Neruda.

And, I love it! It makes me happy.

I have named you queen.
There are taller ones than you. taller.
There are purer ones than you. purer.
There are lovelier than you. lovelier.

But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal gown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass.
the nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
only you and I, my love,
listen to it.

sigh.

Filed Under: Bride Bloggers | 2 Comments

DIY Reception Ideas: Napkin Tags

September 16, 2009 by Christina

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

Recently, I worked on a little project for the wedding reception. I don’t know what I should reveal now, or wait to reveal after the wedding. I’m sure it isn’t that big of a deal at all, but I am excited to share a few of the projects we’ve been working on to make the day feel special. This is a sneak peek of the tags that will go on our napkins (which is another easy project I’m attempting) to complete the place settings at our reception tables. What do you think?

diy reception ideas

I purchased the stamp from Paper Source, and tags from the lovely online boutique Papier Valise. (I have the biggest crush on this boutique from Canada)!

diy reception ideas

I will post a picture of the finished project once I complete the napkins.

Filed Under: Bride Bloggers, DIY Food & Drink, DIY Misc., DIY Wedding | 1 Comment

Guests of Honor instead of Wedding Attendants

September 11, 2009 by Christina

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

I haven’t been a bridesmaid that often – really, only once – and technically I was a best woman. I also really rather enjoyed it – standing up for my best friend as he went through the days preceding and then his beautiful wedding day. I do know a lot of people, though who have been a part of a bridal or groom’s party, and I know that it can be a healthy responsibility. It can add up to be pretty expensive especially if it is a destination wedding (think about it…plane tickets, car rental, hotel room, days off from work, and an oh so special dress or tux); it also doesn’t allow for a lot of personal freedom during the festivities.

Since Nathan and I are having an intimate wedding, we decided that the traditional bridal and groom party might be too formal for us. We also realized that if we actually had a bridal or groom party no one would be seated at the ceremony! There is no possible way I could choose who would or would not stand next to me of all of my closest friends. The solution – Guests of Honor!

As you know, we are renting the beautiful house in New Hampshire with plenty of rooms and bathrooms. Way too much room for just Nathan and I especially since we want to create a warm, cozy Thanksgiving feeling. For years my best friends from college and I have found some way to spend Thanksgiving together. There was the first year when my best friend AJ’s sister flew up especially from Florida, then there was the year I tried cooking my first turkey and I insisted it be organic – feathers and all! Then there was the year my friend Janet hosted it at her house with a whopping 15 of us. No matter the year we always try to find a way to spend it together, and those years we can’t all be there we make sure to give thanks for those faraway friends.

With this in mind Nathan and I invited those people we would consider a part of our bridal or groom’s party to stay with us at the house. And, let me tell you we have a full house! Everyone was excited, and honored to not only be able to reunite, but also be a unique part of the celebration. Our guests will arrive 2 days before the wedding, and will stay a total of three nights. Many are coming from all over the country – LA, Sacramento, St. Louis, Portland, and Chicago! Some have never met before, and others haven’t been in the same room together in years!

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Bride Bloggers | 1 Comment

Is there a More Beautiful Place to Say I Do?

September 9, 2009 by Christina

carey

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

Oh dear lord, guess what I found not far from where we are getting married?

A covered bridge!!

photo by C. Brock

Littleton, NH (a town near where we are getting married)

by Greg802

We have got to take photos here. I mean, how beautiful. I would just love a covered bridge in our photos. Granted I don’t want to spend all day travelling to photo spots, but maybe we can hit this one.

by Tom Herde
I honestly don’t think we could have picked a more beautiful place to get married.

Filed Under: Bride Bloggers | 1 Comment

The Perfect Wedding Location in New Hampshire

September 4, 2009 by Christina

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

Nathan and I have always known we wanted to get married in New Hampshire. At least I can’t remember ever talking about any other place to marry. After realizing that atmosphere (fun, festive, and family) was really important to us, we decided that having our ceremony and party at a home would be the best idea.

I started looking at bed and breakfasts and other sites that may host weddings in New Hampshire. We were originally put off by having other people decide what and how the day should feel/look like and having them make us choose from their list of vendors. Yuck. I know in the end it’s going to be a lot more work for us, but we really want to be the ones that make all the decisions. We both think we can create a beautiful day about us, and the people we love with a simplistic do-it-yourself approach.

We ended up finding the perfect spot in the mountains of New Hampshire. We get the entire house for 7 days which gives us plenty of time to set up, enjoy, and then relax afterwards. I love how perfect the house feels. It is taking up a pretty big portion of our budget and because of this we don’t have to spend as much on actual decorations. I think the house speaks for itself. We will have access to the inside and outside during the actual wedding day (October 3, 2009). And, it really feels like me and Nathan. Cozy, warm, familiar, inviting, rustic.

Just what we were looking for. It’s in a great location for those that do not live in New Hampshire. There is so much to do so close by! Most all major attractions can be found within a 45 minute drive. The scenery is so beautiful! The air so fresh! When we went this past August to visit family Nathan and I both fell in love.

We’re so excited to let everyone know this is the place we will become husband and wife!

Filed Under: Bride Bloggers, Small Wedding Venues, Wedding Venues | 7 Comments

IW Bride Blogger: Introducing Creative Carey in Chicago

September 3, 2009 by Christina

Remember the very clever DIY save the dates made from vintage postcards that I blogged about recently? Well, I asked Carey if she’d grace us with her presence over here at IntimateWeddings and be our first bride blogger. And she agreed!

Carey’s intimate New Hampshire wedding is fast approaching. Her wedding date is October 3, 2009. She’s still got lots to do before her Big Day, and she’s still got lots to blog about during the next month. So, if you want to read all about Carrie’s ultra creative wedding planning journey, check back here often for Carey’s posts.

BTW, I’m looking for a few more good women to join the crew here as bride bloggers. If you are planning an intimate wedding (less than 75 guests) and you are interested in blogging about your wedding here at Intimate Weddings, email me at christina (at) intimateweddings.com and we can chat.

Here’s a Q & A to let you get to know Carey a bit:

Age:

Location:

I have lived in Chicago for 3 years.

Wedding Date:

October 3, 2009

Tell us a bit about yourself:

I am a Visual Manager at Anthropologie, so I get to work with beautiful things all day. This job is amazing because it allows for such personal creative freedom in a store environment!

I have two very big dogs: one black Labrador named Tucker and one Fox Hound named Belle. And I have a small but feisty cat named Greta. I love to garden (we have two 4×4 raised garden beds in our small urban backyard). I also really love a good book. Some of my favorites are Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I love cooking, vacations, black coffee, and big lakes. And, I knew my husband-to-be for four years through online connections (we were both part of an community blogging group) before I ever met him in person. Two days after we met in person we were in love and planning his move from Florida to Chicago! [Read more...]