Wedding Guest Hat-astrophe

The latest wedding invitation calls for "Kentucky Derby hats" in honor of the bride's home state.  Hmmm.... I haven't been to Kentucky since I was a kid, and have no idea what's stylish at a horse race.

A quick Google search reveals that
1) Kentucky Derby hats are the size of UFOs
2) They are best worn with sundresses or linen suits,
3)  It's hard not to look matronly in a huge hat unless you're British, and
4) All the best Hats are made in the UK.  When we threw off the yoke of monarchy, we also lots a fair bit of our style.

I quickly concluded that I would not be purchasing a full-on Kentucky Derby hat that would get worn once and gather dust in the closet.  Maybe a fascinator is the way to go, but the ivory one I wore nearly a year ago screams wedding.

I turned to my best friend Etsy, which did not disappoint......  For brides who embrace color, some of these could be fun.

CherylatHatLover

 Amazing!  And British.  Like I said....

Hatsbycressida

 Oooo, even more fun!  I love the wild festiveness of this one!  But, with a week before the wedding, I don't think it will get to California from the UK in time.  Maybe for the next party....

The closest thing I found stateside was this lovely from Pegasusmaiden.

Pegasusmaiden

Flowers could be nice...

lovelygifts

This would be lovely for an ethereal forest nymph style wedding.

CastleMemories

Finally, I remembered that Satanica was all over the Interwebs when I was looking for wedding finery.  And not everything they make is white.

Satanica

Satanica

In a similar vein, for only $13, I like this headband from WeeGardens.

WeeGardens

More peacock feathers at LovMely.

LovMely

The Disco Flower is always fun, too.

Handle & Spout

What about you?  Are you wearing fabulous headwear?  What's your favorite source?  Have you done the hat/ fascinator look for a night out?

Recap #6: Cheap and Green Decor

We wanted our wedding to have a smallish environmental footprint, so it was important to us that the minimal decor we used be reused and reusable.

For reused items, eBay was my very best friend. To orient our guests to the importance of the place was chose for the wedding, I ordered a bunch of vintage linen California postcard from the 1900-1940s.

We used these both as simple Save the Dates (printed the wedding information on 3x5 stickers, and pressed them on the back of the postcards), and as escort cards, strung on twine with clothespins, which were the first thing guests saw when they arrived at the wedding site.

Postcards were a fitting theme, as both of us love to send postcards from our travels. I found some vintage toy mailboxes on eBay which complemented the postcard theme on the guest book table.

The postcard theme was picked up on the dining tables, where postcards from places we'd traveled together were the markers for each table.

The dinner table decor was simple:


Local, seasonal dahlias in blue glass vases (re-purposed wine glasses from Crate and Barrel, which guests report they love using post-wedding),

Persimmons and pomegranates, local, seasonal fruits, which guests reported enjoying for days after the wedding, and sunflowers in reused vases from eBay.

We were able to borrow white lights from a classmate who got married at the same spot the previous year,


And scored a bunch of borrowed/ donated paper lanterns from two weddings we attended previously that summer. (These lanterns and some of the vases have now been handed off to a friend getting married in August. Yay, Wedding Co-op! Yay, reuse!)

At the origami table, guests made paper cranes for good luck.

 I think our budget for decor was maybe $200. We spent another $300 on cut flowers, which friends arranged in our vases.

With the beauty of the location, we didn't have to do much.
Images, except for a few, by the incomparable Kate Harrison.
#1, 11, 12 by Doc Water.
Heron by Srabani.

Gifts for girls and grooms

As I've mentioned before, when I'm stressed I shop. As the length of my To Do list increases, the siren call of Etsy increase proportionally.

Mmmmm.... everyone needs a clutch, right?

FIAZCO

FIAZCO

And I want my guy to be able to find his way home, where ever we may roam:

skinnerstudio

Would that I had planned ahead enough (always my downfall!) to have ordered these from Anne Holman.

Ah ha! Lucky me! dlkdesigns does RUSH ORDERS for overwhelmed brides like me! Woo-hoo!

Shoegate continues...

In keeping with my current obsession about what to wear, and my advisor's query about what I wear for teaching (skirts and heels, a complete 180 from my grad student uniform of jeans and clogs), I've been searching for the perfect funky, walkable, power-projecting pair of shoes.

Look what Doc Water pointed me to:







Her cousin is a ridiculously talented shoe designer (see 'em all here) in Tel-Aviv, who is kindly bringing some of her wares for shoe-obsessed gals to consider at the good Doc's wedding next weekend!

Doc Water will be wearing some of these handmade beauties under her dress. So cool.

If you happen to be in Tel-Aviv, you should visit one of these places for gorgeous designer shoes!

Contagious

Ha! He's caught the shopping bug. Mr. Barefoot is scrolling through potential gifts for the ushers.*

toybreaker

toybreaker

Rabbitstop

He's even looking at gifts for the ladies!

toybreaker

That's my guy!!!

*Our inclusive wedding entourage consists of a whole mess o' ushers, both male and female, some of whom double as readers, and two Women of Honor. We had to bend the system to our situation. Some of Mr. Barefoot's closest friends are women; he has no siblings. Two of my most important people are my brothers (no sisters). I have two very dear friends from college; Mr. Barefoot has a circle of friends and didn't want to choose just one best man. Plus, we wanted to involve lots of our friends in the wedding. What to do? Co-ed usher-readers, and two special Women of Honor.

Divine details

Did you see the darling summer-camp-inspired wedding at Style Me Pretty?
You must take a look! It's both gorgeous and laid back.

If the devil - or the divine - is in the details (which is it, really?), they had one helluva - or one heavenly - wedding.

Either way, I pretty much want to steal all their special little touches.

Mr. Barefoot is the world's leading expert on a particular of species of dragonfly found in one Rhode Island swamp. The icon made it onto our registry dishes - so we'll need some dragonflies at the reception as well.



This is exactly the sort of outdoorsy bout I've been dreaming of...



And the tables look so inviting, yet not overdone.



Another inspiring table saved long ago, from - ack! - and unknown source. I'll gladly post the link if someone knows.

Artful registry

What better way to start a new shared life than with beautiful handcrafted art from giveArtfully?

If you've got the dishes and necessary housewares - or even if you don't* - you can register for gorgeous art to warm your abode.


I love these California poppies (of course). I kinda want them decorating the reception space, actually...

... while guests sign this handcrafted guestbook, made with Nepalese fiber paper (I <3 handmade paper).


I'd love to have our wedding date - which, coincidentally, is also our address (cool, huh!) - in these ceramic tiles...


... and serve delicious fruits heaped high in this bowl.

Right now, giveArtfully is sponsoring a "Jumpstart Your Art Collection" contest, offering a $100 gift certificate to one lucky winner. Check it out here, and enter by July 22 for a chance at gracing your home with free art.

*"Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul." -John Muir

You want *what* color?

I've been obsessed with pomegranates ever since I was a kid, when I used my allowance to buy the rather pricey, exotic fruit at the local farmer's market. I loved the way the grainy texture of the skin contrasted with the sparkling jewels of seeds inside, and the way the luscious juice dyed my fingers red.

Dandelion Ranch

Here in California, they actually grow locally, and are plentiful (and cheap) during in the fall - an obvious choice for centerpieces on the wedding dining tables (especially since it's easier to come by organic fruit than flowers). Combined with local, organic persimmons from my BFF's backyard tree, they'll make a knock out combo.

Loop Flowers

Though florists are familiar with their decorating potential, it's been rather more difficult to explain to others that my wedding colors (as it were... ) are being dictated by persimmons and pomegranates.

Loop Flowers

Since I have champagne tastes on a beer budget, I'll probably be doing something more like this:

POM DIY

Hooray for DIY tutorials!

and more POM DIY here