Boutonniere tutorial

I found these little paper flowers in the bridal section at Michaels, they match my colors perfectly, so I though I would give boutonniere making a shot. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. The entire cost for 8 bouts.....10.00!!!!!! You can't beat that :)

Supplies:

Paper flowers, or any other type of flower that you want to use.

Floral tape

Floral wire, I used what I had on hand and it is 26 guage.

Wire clippers

Buttons (I used 3 of various sizes)

Leaves, you can use whatever comes with the flowers or you can also purchase the silk leaves specifically made for boutinnieres at Michaels as well. I ran out of those, so just used what I had on hand.

Step 1: Cut a piece of wire about 6 inches in length, it doesn't have to be exact, you will trim this later.

Step 2: Thread the wire through one hole in the buttons, cross over the top of the buttons and thread the wire back down.

Step 3: Pull the wire tight and twist, I held the ends in my left hand and just twisted the buttons.

Step 4: Trim the button stem to about 2-3 inches, you will end up with something like this:

Step 5: Arrange your flowers and leaves in whatever fashion you have chosen:

Side view:

Step 6: Add your button or other accent stem:

Step 7: Twist the stems around each other:

Step 8: Cut a piece of floral tape about 8 inches or so in length and start at the top of the stems, twist the tape around the stems.

Step 9: Continue wrapping tape firmly around stems.

Step 10: Smooth the tape down and twist the end into a little swirl.

And........viola!!!!!! A bona fide boutonniere!!!!!!!!

We booked our honeymoon!!!!!

With things being so bad in the economy right now, we didn't want to spend a whole ton of money on a honeymoon (or the wedding for that matter), but still wanted something nice so we decided to choose a location in the states. I really wanted to go to Italy, but we are going to save that trip for another time when the exchange rate isn't so bad.

Where are we going, you ask? Well.........here is a hint:

Yes, thats right, we chose the world's corniest honeymoon location ever....Niagara Falls, but I must say I'm kind of excited about it. Neither of us have ever been there, and there looks like there will be a ton to do. Its not within the states, but almost :) and the exchange rate is actually in our favor, woohoo!!!!

We are going to be staying here. This is also a new experience for both of us, we have never stayed in a bed and breakfast, hopefully we will enjoy it and it won't be a waste of our money.

Here are some pics of the place:

We are staying in the last room, its a suite with a living area and fireplace, and a sunken claw foot tub......I can't wait!!!!!

Have any of you ever been to Niagara Falls? Is there any particular place or thing that we should do? It looks like there are tons of options for people of all ages.

Budget-friendly venues in Maryland

In the quest for a venue in our area I found some beautiful places that just didn't fit our theme/rustic vibe for our wedding. Some of these are amazingly affordable, and most have facilities for the wedding and the reception. I hope this helps some of the brides out there who feel like pulling out their hair in the search for the perfect venue!

Linganore Winery in Mt Airy Maryland. Majestically nestled on 230 acres of rolling countryside surrounded by acres of vineyards. Linganore Winecellars welcomes you to experience the art of winemaking so close to home yet a world apart. Enjoy a guided tour of the winery and taste our extensive line of award winning wines. Since 1976 we have been known for exceptional wines and fun times.

This was our first place to visit and I fell in love! It is incredible, but in the end, it was a little larger then we needed. Rental rates are reasonable, chairs and tables are free and you receive 10% your wine purchase for the wedding.

I can't find the current rental rates on the website, but in October when looked at it, the Abisso Banquet Hall was around 1500.00 for 7 hours.

Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air, Harford County Maryland is absolutely exquisite, its a 1898 historic summer home for John Hopkins Founder, Dr.Howard Kelly. It has areas for your ceremony and reception both indoors and out. Beautiful staircase and fireplace indoors. Rental rates start as low as 600.00 (for a weekday, off-season event) and the highest rate is 2000.00. They also have chairs and tables available to rent.

Riversdale House Museum, Riversdale Park, Maryland

Riversdale, a National Historic Landmark, is a restored, five-part, stucco-covered brick plantation home built between 1801 and 1807. Construction of this elegant manor house was begun by Henri Stier, a Flemish aristocrat, and was completed by his daughter Rosalie and her husband George Calvert, grandson of the fifth Lord Baltimore. The Federal style mansion has particularly fine interior decorative detail.

Saturday rates: 1150 for 7 hours.

Wedding giveaway!

Here is an awesome wedding giveaway for those couples who don't mind something out of the ordinary!

The Style Network is going BIG to celebrate the 100th episode of Whose Wedding is it Anyway? We are searching for one lucky couple who is ready for the adventure of a lifetime, all while planning their wedding -- and getting married!

We are looking for a couple to go on a wild ride with one of our featured Whose Wedding planners as we give them the most unforgettable wedding. This experience is for the couple who doesn't want anything ordinary....but an EXTRAORDINARY wedding of their dreams!

Please send your contact info, love story and photos to WhoseWedding100@trueentertainment.net

All participants must be 21 years of age or older and available in early March 2009.

The deadline to apply is February 16, 2009.

Good Luck!!!!

ModCloth

Thanks to the lovely vintageglam blog, I stumbled upon this awesome website, ModCloth. They are a vintage inspired clothing, shoes, accessories and home products, all from independant designers. They are giving away one item up to 80.00, you can check out their website for details. Here are some of my faves: There stuff is adorable, and at a wide range of prices very affordable. So what are you waiting for? Go check them out!

Happy New Year!!!! (I know, I know, I'm a little late)

Hopefully, everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season, I know that I did, but I am glad to be back to normal. I started off the year full of wedding ideas and plans.

So far, I have the following things done/decided:
Dress
Shoes
Cake
Invitations bought, we are going to print them ourselves
Save the dates designed and ordered from Vistaprint
Venue
DJ
Photographer
Flowers.....DIY'ing

Need to do the following:
Find an officiant
Men's attire, decide and order
ceremony musician
chair rental for ceremony
decide on food
linens

And a whole host of other items that I can't think of at the moment :)

I will leave you with some of my favorite wedding images.....I tried to credit the photographers, but did not have all of the information. If these are your images please let me know and I will post your information.

Freckles Photography by Alison Harbaugh