Wedding cakes / North Carolina Wedding Planner

   We met with our bride this evening to go over as much as possible including deciding on the whole style of the wedding. The meeting went wonderfully and the wedding's going to be absolutely lovely! There was a lot of discussion about the cake, making me really want to admire and share some fabulous wedding cakes with you all.

The simplicity of this one is fantastic. 

Who knew that an un-iced cake could be so impressive?

I adore the idea of having a wedding pie.

Multiple cakes is a lovely idea. 

This cake says "party!"

A cake so delightfully whimsical it just makes me smile.

Wedding Cake Toppers / North Carolina Wedding Planner

   I love that there are so many options for wedding cake toppers now, especially on Etsy. These are my favorites...

{Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4}

DIY heart garland / North Carolina Wedding Garland

  Some wedding venues are so pretty, they need little decorations. When I decided to have my wedding at my grandparents historical farm house, I knew I didn't want to go overboard with decorations. I chose to make my own garland to hang on the fireplace mantles, over the reception food table, and down the banister to add some whimsy to the family home.

To make the garland I used:

• A heart shaped hole punch 
• A small hole punch
• Two shades of green scrapbook paper
• The pages of a dictionary I found at Goodwill
• Dental floss (yes, dental floss)

I began by using the heart hole punch to punch tons of green and dictionary page hearts. After I had heart hole punched to my heart's content, I used the small hole punch to put a hole in the upper corner of each sweet little heart. Then the really delicate part of the whole project came, stringing each heart onto the minty dental floss. For each heart, I strung one on, tied three knots in the dental floss, then added another heart and did the same. It went fairly quickly and was a great activity while watching TV. 

Photos by Jeff Scott of J. Darren Photography

DIY Boutonnieres / North Carolina Wedding Planner

 When I planned my own wedding I knew little to nothing about flowers and flower arranging, but I was so pleased with how the boutonnieres my mom and I crafted the morning of the wedding turned out. During my wedding planning process I found so much inspiration from wedding blogs. Oncewed provided the inspiration and instructions I used for these. I loved the idea of making my own due to how much cheaper it would be than getting them from a florist and for the fact that they would have the simple, unpretentious style I wanted.

   To get started on mine I cut some small daisies, rosemary so they'd smell nice, and an unidentified plant (I just knew it wasn't poison ivy) from my grandmother's garden, then my mom and I got to work. We made little bunches for each. Every bunch contained one daisy, one sprig of rosemary, and some of the unidentified leaves. We then wrapped florist tape around each, put them all in a bowl of water, and tucked them safely in the fridge. While I got ready at the church my sweet mom tied green ribbon around each bunch and pinned each one  on all the guys' coats.

   They turned out so beautifully and made our wedding that much more personal. 

Photos by Jeff Scott of J. Darren Photography

Unique Bouquets / North Carolina Wedding Planner

   I'm all about having as many real, fresh flowers as possible at a wedding including the Bride's bouquet. I carried white hydrangeas and wouldn't change a thing, but I also love the idea of carrying a more unique bouquet.  These are fantastically unique.

{Photo Sources 1, 2, 3, 4}

Striped Straws / North Carolina Wedding Planner

   The one thing I wish I'd had at our wedding: striped paper straws.

{Photo Sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Dessert Tables / North Carolina Wedding Planner

   When I got married I insisted that we have more desserts than just cake for our guest. I've got quite a sweet tooth. Wedding dessert tables are becoming such a fun and delicious trend. I am completely in love with and inspired by these...

{Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5}