2 In Decor/ Inspiration/ Reception

Take A Seat

I was married 7 years ago, this past August.  While I wouldn’t change the groom or the actual ceremony, I do wish I could redo a lot of the details.  We planned our whole wedding in 6 months and I made most of everything from my dress to the invitations to the centerpieces.  Perhaps I’ll do a wedding flashback post one day soon.

Of all the things I would want a do-over for, table numbers and escort cards are on the list.  While I think the standard tent-fold escort cards on a table are perfectly fine, along with the traditional number on a stick in the middle of the table, I know we can do better.  Here are a few of my favorites at the moment.

via Style Me Pretty

via Martha Stewart Weddings

via Dashing In Pearls

As for table numbers, there are so many interesting things you can do.

via The Found Blog

via Eat Drink Chic

 

via Cottage Affairs

0 In Paper Goods

Hello! I’m Steel Petal Press

Rustic Fall Wedding InvitationsMy name is Shayna and I’m the one -woman show behind Steel Petal Press.   I am dedicated to making high quality custom letterpress invitations and announcements with an edge for modern and less conventional brides.  I understand that every couple is different and every wedding has its own personality. I am here to help create a wedding invitation set that perfectly matches the couple and their vision for their special day.

I’m really excited to be back at Indie Wed again this year.  Alternative wedding planning is something that I have personal experience with and that I feel strongly about.  Below is a post adapted from something I recently wrote on my own blog about alternative wedding planning, and I why I love weddings :)  …..

One thing I read that stuck with me while planning my own wedding was to be true to yourself and make sure your wedding is a reflection of you.  It’s so easy to get caught up in reading all the bridal magazines filled with advertisements and images of “ideal weddings.”  But in reality everyone is different and there is not one right way to do anything.

For me, I was a *very* reluctant bride.  I did not want to wear a big white gown, nor did I want to walk down an isle.  In fact, at the time, I would have rather eloped in Vegas or had a City Hall wedding, but hubby-to-be really wanted the big celebration.

Please don’t get me wrong.. I absolutely LOVE weddings; I love attending friends’ weddings, witnessing their vows, I love the romance of it,  I love the dancing, the party, (the open bar) I love getting dressed up, and I love all the attention to detail that goes into the design and planning of the events.  (There’s a reason I’m in the wedding industry after all..) It’s just I had never pictured myself in the role of the bride, so the idea of being one felt false to me. But there was no way around it, I WAS a bride, just not a typical bride.

And, to be totally honest, looking back on the day, I’m really glad we spent the time to gather our friends and family together to witness our vows and to help celebrate the momentous occasion.  I realize it IS one of the most important days of your life, so why not create a celebration around it to reflect it’s significance?  Several years later I still  look back on the photos from the day and I feel happy knowing I married a wonderful man and we will be together forever.. (aah, sigh.. the cheese)

Anyways, to make a long rambling story short.. I am here because I 100% relate to brides and couples who love the idea of weddings and marriage but don’t want to take the typical route. I also totally understand the love of weddings, because really, I do love  weddings.

More important than being either alternative or traditional a wedding should be a reflection of the couple getting married.  This is something I felt strongly about when planning my own wedding and something I keep in sight when creating invitations for other people’s weddings.  It feels great knowing I can help contribute to help make a couple’s big day really special.  And it’s great that events like Indie Wed exist to showcase there’s more than one way to get married.

You learn about me more on these site:
Here’s a link to my website: http://steelpetalpress.com/wedding-invitations/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/steelpetalpress
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteelPetalPress

0 In Decor/ Flowers/ Inspiration/ Uncategorized

Introducing Reenie Rose

Well, I say let’s get this posting party started!

Allow me to introduce myself…my name is Loreen and I am the owner/artist behind Reenie Rose.  Reenie Rose specializes in creating a modern approach to traditional bridal bouquet preservation via a custom oil painting on canvas.  To further explain, I’ll share a little story with you….

Here’s a beautiful wedding tale of a bride and groom that had a fairy godmother swoop in to rescue them from dust and clutter and ugliness.  A true Cinderella story of something not so pretty being touched by a magic wand and transformed into a timeless treasure for always.

Our story starts with our happy couple.  Aww, they are married and blissful.

 

And, they have chosen a most lovely bouquet of purple dahlias, lisianthus, merlot calla lilies and hypericum berries.  It was a gorgeous combination they wanted to last forever.

 

So, they dried it.  What was once a vibrant display became a brittle, lack luster representation of their special wedding.

Then one day, a fairy godmother came along and said, “Tsk tsk, this will not do.  Is this how you want to remember your wedding day?  I think not!”  With a sweep of her magic wand, a call into Reenie Rose and 41 hours of painting later, the happy couple received the glass slipper of all glass slippers….a Reenie Rose painting of their bouquet as it was on their wedding day.
Of course they lived happily ever after.  The End.

Moral of the story kids….do you really want to have your dried, dusty flowers sitting around when the alternative is so much better….I think not.  Be a fairy godmother to yourself or someone who would like a visual of fresh flowers with the fragrance of memories year round.

Hop over to my website to view my full garden portfolio of fresh floral paintings.  And, for a little extra, check out my blog to see what marvelous projects I am currently working on.

Happy Painting!

1 In Ceremony/ Decor/ Inspiration/ Reception

What’s The (Focal) Point?

Whether you are getting married in a church, a barn, or a backyard, ceremony and reception decor can help set the mood and elevate the event from ordinary to fabulous.  This doesn’t mean you have to spend a small fortune on decor.

via 100 Layer Cake

One of my favorite ways to add some drama is by creating a focal point somewhere in the room.  I love large scale installations made up of everything from fabric to ribbon to paper and more.  Add a focal point to your ceremony space, a dessert table, or entrance ceiling.  Get creative and get crafty!

via 79 Ideas

Here are some more wonderful examples for inspiration.

via {this is glamorous}

via Design Sponge

via Amy Atlas

0 In Inspiration/ Reception/ Sweets & Treats

Nom Nom… Dessert Tables at Weddings

I wanted to kick of our first inspirational post with a few images of some gorgeous dessert tables.  Modern couples are bucking tradition and in lieu of one grand cake are serving cupcakes (okay so that trend is old), mini cakes (yes, some say they are different than cupcakes), cakes on sticks, pies on sticks, anything on sticks, macarons, brownies and any other sweet confection they can find.  And with stylists like Amy Atlas inspiring the use of dessert tables, couples are making the sweets stand out in unique and stunning ways.

by Paper Stories, Pollen, Plate, AveryHouse & Ryan Alexander Events

by Emma Smith Stationery

by Jenna Rae Cakes

0 In Directory/ Inspiration/ Website

Welcome to our new site!

Well after nearly 9 months of work, welcome to our brand new site.  I wanted to overhaul the new site with both a fresh new look and more functionality to focus on the direction Indie Wed was heading.  While there is still a lot to beef up, like the directory & blog, I hope you will find the new features useful and the overall site, easier to navigate.

Eventually my hope is that the directory will become a national resource for all your Indie Wed needs.  If you are or know of a vendor who would be perfect for our directory, please contact us.

The blog will work a little differently than most of the blogs you are used to.  Rather than just one or two authors at Indie Wed telling you what we think you should read, the blog will be community based with posts coming for a variety of contributors from our current event’s list of vendors to those in our directory.  Also, unlike a lot of popular blogs, we don’t make people pay for editorial coverage.  We simply share what we like and are inspired by.

I hope you enjoy the changes and you start to look around the site.

0 In Events

3rd Annual Winter Indie Wed

We have just finished pouring over nearly 200 amazing applicants from around the area.  It was a difficult decision but we narrowed the field down to just over 100 vendors for our 3rd Winter event.

The event will feature over 40 amazing vendors on two floors and will include:

  • wandering models wearing spectacular bridal fashions
  • DJ’s on both floors and dancing
  • plenty of live entertainment from rock to jazz to classical guitar
  • food tastings
  • food & beer pairings
  • photobooths
  • giveaways
  • and much more

Tickets are available now with Early Bird prices in effect until mid-December.