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...distracted by macarons for a bit..now back to my original search...wedding welcome bags for the out of town guests.. i think these ideas are so fun...i've got a couple of ideas for mine: list of wedding weekend events, postcards, area map, tourist pamphlets, glass bottled lemonade and gourmet goodies..wow..wish i had a bizillion dollars so i could get in every little crafty idea i have in my head.. i've been flipping back and forth all weekend between david tutera and four weddings..(say yes to the dress is finally returning with new episodes this weekend..yay!) i wish tutera would come design my wedding.. the only thing is he makes the brides change their dresses most of the time..but i like my dress..alot.. ....in other news: we ordered the tuxes last week.. all black tuxes..groom is wearing paisley ivory vest with an ivory striped tie..thinking about ordering a black vest and tie just as a backup..the groomsmen are wearing black vests with black and silver striped ties........ 6 more months!!

...So I'm wide awake at 3am searching online for French

macarons...drooling over Laduree shops with their macaron towers and dainty boxes... doesn't orange blossom or salted butter caramel sound good?

take a look..

http://www.laduree.fr

My pillow came in the mail...it's gorgeous! I think it will go well with the theme..I bought some material to make other pillows..maybe set them on the outdoor bench at the reception. I found two more frames, for table numbers, at Marshalls and a pail for the lavender seeds at Target. The lantern was also from Marshalls. I like that the accessories and decor items I'm finding for the wedding..I can actually use in our apartment.. which we have yet to find! The stamp arrived also..I think it will had a nice touch to the lavender bags, tags, and such... I met with an event design company this week..I'll have another meeting with them in a couple of weeks...So far we've discussed the ceremony canopy..which I'm hoping the ceremony will be all white with an organza canopy, white rose petals, lots of hydrangeas... We went to the tasting at the reception venue a couple of weeks ago.. I've selected the menu..I won't give away the details.. but I hope everyone will like it.

I've been searching high and low for a frame that was ornate enough, big enough, and cheap enough to use for the menu... finally found one in a thrift shop for $12...I had hobby lobby put a chalk board inside..then i found the perfect easel at Garden Ridge...it has a fleur di lis on it..black..iron.. I'm going to paint the frame off white like the photo below.. I think the table numbers display is cute as well..don't know if i'll do that... when i get the frame painted i'll post pics..also things to paint: birdcage + 2 cafe chairs (from a free! garage sale)

More wedding updates: We booked our honeymoon reservations! We will be flying to Quebec City, Canada the day after the wedding. We're staying two nights at the Chateau Frontenac then the rest of the time at the Hotel Clarendon... So happy those plans are taken care of.. thank you to my groom! The photo below is during the winter..we'll be going in the summer..but it looks cute anyways.. the other photo is of the Chateau Frontenac

Outside of the reception room there are two wooden benches..a sort of porch area..in front of large window looking into the room...I've purchased some French burlap pillows from etsy.com that will be placed on the benches...One is really cute..i'll post a photo soon...It has our M monogram and "Est. 2011" ..with some filigree design on it... I've also bought some canvas and some transfer paper and am going to purchase and download some French pillow designs off of etsy. I love, love, love that website... Also..off of that same website..different artist.. I've purchased a monogram stamp.. This design will have our last name, the M, and the date. I'm going to stamp mini brown paper bags. On the patio entrance there will be a galvanized silver tub with lavender. Guests will be able to fill the bags with this adorable silver scoop I found at the French home decor store we have in town. I also got the lavender idea from their store.. They change out the potpourri each season. Right now they have some cedar and dried oranges and lavender for the fall. I'm debating weather I want the iron stand for the galvanized tub or do i want the tub sitting on the bench..

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I purchased these champagne glass candles from Bed Bath and Beyond on clearance..(w/ those 20% off coupons) I've broken two..lets not break anymore because BBB no longer carries them and i can't find them on any website.. Last weekend we all worked on these around a cozy kitchen table.. it was quite nice..the old version of Father of the Bride played in the background...My groom was infatuated with the heat gun and took a break from his laptop to try his hand at stamping.. His break turned into hours as a frustrated bride almost gave up..thank goodness he's a perfectionist..and an artist. We stamped the tags with fleur de lis in stamping glue.. sprinkled on silver embossing powder then "embossed" with the heat gun.. In the middle of that the bride blew the embossing powder all over her white tablecloth and was assigned a new task of tying pink ribbons on bubbles.. a less stressful job : )

I purchased these wire frames at a consignment store of all places.. they were less than $5 each! I'm going to use them on the appetizer buffet...label the cheese or something.. : )

I purchased these frames at Hobby Lobby... it's great when things go half price! I also purchased 2 white rose wreaths from Target during their end of season sale.. The frames are going to hand inside the wreaths...The wreaths are going to hang on the outside white French doors of the country club reception room... I might also use them for the church doors.. I love the M's... I have this little fetish with M's if you didn't know.. I've always wanted an M last name... there was just something about Mary Tyler Moore's gold M hanging on the wall of her studio apartment that made me always want to go buy a big wooden M.. weird i know..

Vintage Look Frames

I purchased these frames last summer for about $3 each. Thinking...oh i'll just buy the five they have and find them some more later.. well.. i can't find them anywhere..they are by Sheffield Home.. I found some that are slightly similar but they go for $22 each on the internet... hmmm...Hobby Lobby and Michaels don't have any that would go either.. what to do... But when I get the rest they're going to be used for table numbers...

Bridesmaids Dresses

The dresses are from David's Bridal..and the shoes as well...watermelon color.. I think picking out the bridesmaids dresses was a lot harder than selecting my own dress.. I bought the second dress I tried on in the store... the wedding dress shopping "experience" that you've dreamed of since you were a little girl didn't quite happen the way i thought it would.. I thought i would have tried on a million dresses before i found "the one." I also thought the owner would be named Frank and have a strange accent, champagne would be served..and I would act like a bell and swoosh back and forth in my tulle skirt like Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride as Richard Gere reads his newspaper upside down...ding...ding..... I surprised myself with being less picky about things than I thought I would be.. Anyways, the bridesmaids dresses are done..crossed off the list..whew! ...The tuxes were another story.. So my groom, surprisingly, is way more selective than I am.. down to the texture, pattern, and material of the tie...we spent an afternoon going from store to store...i think its weird that no one had vests he could try on.. how am i supposed to know what color combos i want? sure it looks nice in a magazine..but how does it look in person? so..from looking at all their 'books' of 'looks' i guess i know what i want.. ivory tie and vest...black tux... and for the groomsman.. silver/black/white striped ties..black vests...black tuxes.. hopefully it will all come together in the end