Come pretend centerpieces with me

Well, it's all coming together . . . but you'll have to trust me on that. As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been gathering vintage vases and pedestal candy dishes for my centerpieces for months now--and these are the only elements of my centerpieces that I actually have in my possession right now. 

To help me visualize what our tables will look like at the wedding reception, I decided to make a centerpiece mock-up in my basement. Want to see? Well, let me walk you through my vision. 

First off, you'll need to suspend your disbelief and pretend a bit with me: 

• See the blue square of tissue paper in the pics below? Imagine that is a 12"x12"square mirror.

• Those white cones are the exact size of glass votive holders with long-burning ivory candles. See them twinkling in the mirror's reflection? (I should get them in the mail Tuesday!)

• The flowers in the vases won't be fakes from Michael's; they're fresh tulips 2 dark purple and 1 ivory.

• And the flowers in the candy dishes aren't really popped off heads of fake tulips; each dish holds one big white peony.

• Oh, and the table isn't covered in a wrinkly plastic table cloth; it's a light gold/brown "cafe"-colored linen table cloth I've rented.

So, you see, it's all coming together (in my head). I can't wait to see it all "in the flesh." Bridesmaids and wedding party, these are the centerpieces we'll be putting together Friday and Saturday before the wedding. How many? Depends on my RSVPs, but I'm guess about 20 tables. Fun, right?

Your thoughts? Anything you'd change?

The line between "vintage" and "antique"

I’m torn! Part of me wants to buy things like this wooden bowling pin and scatter them throughout the wedding reception. But, this kind of leans more towards antique/kitch instead of vintage old Hollywood. So, I've been avoiding my favorite antique or "junk" store in Iowa City: Artifacts. Yet, they continue to tempt me with Facebook posts. Blast!

And I love it! Thus, I've decided that although I can't justify adding more antiques to my wedding budget, I will use items I already have. This week, I've done an inventory of vintage/antique (yes, now I'm using them interchangeably) items we have laying around the house. 

Here's what I've come up with so far:

1) A vintage suitcase to store our photo booth props. This is currently in our bedroom closet and has a collection of teddy bears and other stuffed animals.

2) A vintage looking chest or two for cards at the gift table. (Please excuse the dust.) The one on the left Erik uses to store his random guitar stuff, guitar strap, extra picks, etc. The pretty floral one hold photos back from the day before digital cameras.

3) A vintage looking hat box for the photo tickets (once I cut a slot in the top). I currently have this on my night stand to give my reading lamp more height.

4) And a doily or two made by my family members. I might be able to incorporate on a table.

5) I also have this old valise, although I'm not sure what I'll use it for. Any ideas?

And, of course, I have all the vases and centerpieces I've been collecting (featured in this post). I've got a couple more antique items up my sleeve as well. So, you be the judge. Do these items fit well enough with our Old Hollywood theme? Or should I just throw up my hands, call our theme "vintage," and use them all?

Help us build our playlist!

If our wedding style is "vintage," then our dance theme is "retro." What's your favorite tune from the 50's, 60's, 70's 80's or 90's? Our super cool DJ service has an online music request system. That means you can add your favorite tune to our dance playlist. Just visit A Fine Affair DJ at http://www.gigbuilder.com/cal/ia/afineaffairdj.nsf/guestlogin.html.

Simply input our wedding date (May 29, 2010) and the following case-sensetive password: SaraErikGuest

Note: As bride and groom, we reserve the right to veto anything we don't like. I'd avoid any current rap or country songs, if I were you. I'll leave you with some photos for inspiration:

 

Engagement photos!

Yes, we have engagement pictures! We took them November 6th and have been delayed in getting them because of winter road conditions and busy schedules. But last week our photographer simply put them online for us to view and I love them! I'm so glad/relieved that our photographer has such a great eye.

Luckily, November 6th was a warm sunny day and there were a few late leaves on the trees. These were all taken while walking around the University of Iowa campus. You'll notice we played around with some vintage hats to acheive that Old Hollywood look (mine's authentic, his is vintage-looking). You'll also get a sneek peak at our Save-the-Date cards if you make it all the way through the album.

Now I don't have images to post here on the blog, but you can see them on Brian Hall Photographers' website: http://www.brianhallphotographers.com/pickpic/gallery/splash.php?gallery_id=50

Title: Erik & Sara

Passcode: Peterson (my soon-to-be last name!)

Gallery Expiration: Monday February 1, 2010
Just click on "Engagement" to see them in thumbnail format or flip through them individually.

I have my favorites, of course, but I've already been surprised by which ones others like the most. We're in the process of selecting which ones to get prints of, and I'd love to hear what you think! So, feel free to leave a comment.