the lady I met with at the church emailed me and said I can use real candles..in fact I can even use theirs if I want.. I just have to make sure there's some glass plate or something under them..!!! yes!! and we went back to the three rental places and i've got all my rentals straightened out..not reserved but i have a personal list of things from each place that i'd like... and found the aisle markers i wanted that are a bit more elegant than the 70's ones..

and the search continues

http://www.annwoodhandmade.com/

My mom and I met with the church lady this morning.. I wanted to go over details like where the bridal room was..rehearsal questions...take photos...and see what all decor they could offer. They have a pink silk arrangement I'm going to use.. buthe rest I will have to rent.

Went to three rental places again..and really compared prices between the three.. both had the 70's silver aisle markers with the glass cylinders and candles.. so i guess that is what we will be using.. the rental company that my reception place works with complies with the package that I got..so basically all i can use is polyester white.. anything else..gorgeous pintucks, taffeta, organza, A COLOR.. i have to pay extra.. which we are hoping to do for at least the cake table and dessert buffet maybe in a pintuck overlay and gather it.

so later we wound up on the third floor of an OLD wooden warehouse filled with freaky naked mannequins and old store furnishings.. and found an nice black postcard rack identical to pottery barn's... left my name and number with the man who said he might rent it to me if its still there in july.. i still do not know if he had two lazy eyes or just blind as a bat but wouldn't look at me when i talked to him...and wouldn't take us up the three flights of stairs...i was more scared of the 80's mannequins than anything..like they had faces and wigs...and were looking at me...

...but then... when all hope is seem lost..you run into a STORE CLOSING! sale at joann's fabric... got the leaf ink pads for the thumb print tree, all the fabric for the canopy, ornate rustic looking straight pins for the escort board tags, flower girl baskets and moss, and more pink ribbon.... then we hit michaels craft store and find the 2 fat white birds with long tales that i've been searching all over for to make into "ann woods" type bride and groom birds..sounds silly but they are really cute.. putting them on the gift table next to the creamy distressed bird cage i'm working on...and i bought a peony..again.. i am addicted to them..i needed something happy today.. whew!!! WHAT a day... and cracker barrel was crazy busy and crowded at 10 am..ON A WEEKDAY! ok enough ranting.. i needed to let out some steam

How easy are THESE?!!

Why didn't I think of this? Mini cupcakes..and just use the tops! Looks like macarons to me! Not the same texture..but for $2 a piece for macarons and less than $2 for a box of cake mix..you can't beat that! Maybe I'll make hot pink and light pink.. fill with pink and white marshmallow fluff or icing..

Ingredients

• Cupcakes
• 1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
• 1/4 teaspoon each Betty Crocker® gel or liquid food colors (neon pink, neon purple, neon orange, neon green, classic blue)
• Filling
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• Betty Crocker® gel or liquid food colors (neon pink, neon purple, neon orange, neon green, classic blue)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 60 mini muffin cups. Make cake batter as directed on box. Divide batter among 5 small bowls, about 3/4 cup each. Make 5 different colors of batter by adding 1/4 teaspoon gel food color to each bowl; blend well.

Fill each muffin cup with 1 level measuring tablespoon batter, making 12 cupcakes of each color.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

In large bowl, beat marshmallow creme and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Divide frosting among 5 small bowls, about 1/3 cup each. Using the same 5 gel food colors, lightly tint frosting in each bowl to match the cupcake colors.

Assemble each popper using 2 mini cupcakes. Cut tops off each cupcake horizontally (save bottoms for another use). Spread or pipe about 1 tablespoon frosting on cut side of 1 cupcake top. Form a sandwich by placing cut side of second cupcake top on filling; press lightly. Repeat with remaining cupcake tops. Store loosely covered.

We dug out all the flowers for the wedding out of the closets, from underneath the beds, out of the attic..counted them..sorted them into groups for the canopy, reception foyer, table arrangements, patio, cake, even the reception room bathroom.. They recently redid the bathroom in some weird mix of tile and off colors that don't go together..and don't go with the room..so the third photo with the white vase is the arrangement thats going in the reception bathroom..

little details.. i love little details.. i love photos of details.. i have been told by at least two people that no one will notice these details.. but honestly its about my personal satisfaction and the fun of doing it and the memories i'm making with people and family by doing it.. it's also about giving my guests a great experience and not having just an average blah wedding..

I met with the reception caterer again..things have changed a little.. I kinda felt like I was one of those crazy bridezillas after the meeting ..for asking for things a certain way..

I do have (free) use of the back patio for the lemonade mason jars, they'll provide servers, and I can bring the cones. I am reallly hoping this all comes together at the end and it doesn't end up looking like cheese.. We made a trial centerpiece (first photo)..I like it.. I'm hoping to alternate and rent some candelabras to vary the heights in the room of table arrangements. I've got all the lace for the jars from a family member so that's taken care of. I met with the photographer and everything worked out great with her and I got more coverage time than I had expected. The dj is booked too..I have still another appointment with him..but at least I have a song list ready. We started looking at apartments last weekend..Love this one place..We found another place that looks even better and less money so hoping to go see them next week after all this snow melts..

I decided to set up the couch area as a substitute for the entrance to the reception where the two benches will be. The first photo is my inspiration. I want an outdoor flower market look? Something like that.. I still need to sew all the pillows too. Most of the flowers are from a free garage sale last summer. The zinnias are new. The basket I use to hold pine cones for Christmas decorating. The cans are were also free and the pots we had around the house.