English Tea Party

Modern Red

I love bold, crisp red weddings. The colors makes for a very dramatic statement, and a big impact can be done extremely cost effectively with carnations. The venue in the bottom corner is one I considered for my own wedding: the art museum at Indiana University.

That night at the hotel, in our room with the long empty hall outside and our shoes outside the door, a thick carpet on the floor of the room, outside the windows the rain falling and in the room light and pleasant and cheerful, then the light out and it exciting with smooth sheets ad the bed comfortable, feeling that we had come home, feeling no longer alone, walking in the night to find the other one there, and not gone away; all other things were unreal. We slept when we were tired and if we woke the other one woke too so one was not alone. Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. It has only happened to me like that once

~ from A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)



Happy anniversary, J.

Reader Request 2

Here's another board I put together in a similar color scheme as the last one. Here's the bride's request " . . . My colors are sage, lilac (more like a Victorian lilac or European lilac) and a rich, dark brown. I don't really have a style I don't think, but my flowers are tulips"

I think she definitely has a style! This is another green and purple board at its core, but the slight change of color intensity makes for a more earthly, elegant feel. Don't you just love the sage boutonnieres?

Reader Request 1

This is a board I put together from one the wonderful ladies on the knot message board that I frequent. Here's her style: " . . .Our colors are a lime/citrus green primary with fuchia and lavendar. Sorta wine-inspired colors/theme, but more of a modern girly sort of feel . . ."

I love paring purples with a bright green - the colors together are both glam and still playful. I am somewhat obsessed with the cake, from the current issue of MS Weddings, because pansys are just such an gorgeous yet uncommon flower.

Thanks for letting me put a board together for you - hope you like it!

Sunshine

Teal and yellow, one of this week's featured color combos, is reminiscent of so many things I love in summer: sunshine and pool water, lemonade, those mysteriousy colored raspberry sno cones I eat whenever I'm in my parent's neighborhood. It makes for an equally refreshing wedding pallette - at once energetically bright and yet mellow.

Color Combos

I love color, and finding creative matches that go outside the more traditional wedding color schemes is a lot of fun for me. I hope to make this a weekly feature, showing what shades I'm currently loving. Here are the combos I'm "feeling" right now.







Which one is your favorite? Anyone using one of these combos for your wedding?

A Callout to my readers

To everyone reading (hopefully someone is!) I will happily put together an inspiration board for your upcoming event. Just let me know some detials like the date, colors, theme, or style you'd like to incorporate, and I'll come up with something for you. Trust me, having a board makes planning so much easier! Either leave a comment on this post, or drop me an email at hoosierbride@gmail.com. Thanks!

About Us: How we met

I know that these stories have a tendency to be bornig, long, and overly detailed, so I'm going to try not to do that to you. Here's a just a quick blurb on how this started.

We met at work. I was placed on third shift (night shift, for those of you not from a 'round the clock industry) to coordinate a cleaning project. The Mister is a lead supervisor in the area I was working in. We went out for coffee after work one morning, and coffee turned into a fourteen hour date. A month later, I moved in, and here we are.

What I love about the Mister is that he is so innovate, so forward thinking, and able to push me outside my comfort zone. He has taught me that keeping up with the Joneses, or doing what is expected of you is no way to live a happy life. We celebrate our anniversary this month, and I couldn't be happier.

How did you and your "other" meet?

Pink Lemonade

It's an absolutely gorgeous day in central Indiana today: bright, sunny, and remarkably not humid. It would be a perfect day for a summery wedding, and something about yellow and pink screams "girly summertime." Find a little pretty church for the ceremony, and a church hall or local shelter house for an ice-cream social and cupcake reception. What better way to be girly, seasonal, and budget friendly, no seated meal needed.

Glamming it up

As you know, I love retro touches in a wedding, and something about this set feels slightly 1940-ish to me. Red, white, and black make for a glam color pallette but I think even the most formal events should be fun - how great would an evening snack of cookies and milk be? The fabulous red shoes are by Mr. Manolo,and would such a nice pop of color sticking out from the bottom of the dress. This could make for such a glitzy winter affair - scatter crytsals on the tables, have some yummy carving stations . . .and if you do this, please send an invite my way.

Wedding Things I Love Part 2

My mother says the most memorable wedding reception that she has ever attended took place in 1967, when her cousin Sonny got married. For the reception, the couple asked each of their aunts and mothers to bake their "signature" cake instead of giving them a wedding present. All of the cakes were served with ice cream from a big freezer. There were something like twenty-three cakes, all different flavors. My mother gets a sugar craving talking about it

I know there is no law saying that a wedding should have a cake, but I must admit that it one of the things that I look forward to the most when going to a wedding (I'm sure I'm not alone in that!). While there is a timelessness to a tall, tiered, white confection, I love nontraditional wedding cakes, both for their stylistic value, and for their cost saving ability - you could make a few pies or cupcakes on your own, then arrange them the day of. I'm sure it would be just as sumptuous as any over-priced store bought confection. How fun are the cake centerpieces?

While I adore the idea of a cheesecake and pie buffet, the Mister LOVES cake. So we'll probably have a cake buffet, with a few of our favorite flavors. We may end up buying them, but I do the love idea of having (willing!) family members contribute by sharing their own homemade cakes.

Who is the backyard bride? Part 1

I guess I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I'm a twenty-something alumni of Indiana Univeristy, and I work as a project manager for a major automotive company. I have four great loves: the Mister, our two dogs, design, and fancy shoes. Vintage cars, 1980s pop music, and thrift store shopping round out my list of favorite things.

The Mister is a thirty-something mechanical engineer, a Purdue University alum, and is addicted to his Playstation 3. He adores Colts football, obessess over having our lawn perfect, and would eat cupcakes for every meal if we could.

Next up: how we met

Daisy Chains

Yellow is my favorite color: my car is yellow, as is a good portion of my accessory wardrobe (my clothing tends to be more neutral: gray, black, navy, and more black). Yellow with white makes for a cheery, relaxed vibe. This pallette also makes saving on flowers possible - so many wildflowers are in these colors, you could easily raid a garden and put together your own bouquet.

Food Themed Weddings

The Mister and myself shared our first date at a Starbucks. (Isn't that horribly cliche? I try to justify it by explaning that we were both working nights, and coffee is a mainstay when you get off work at 7:30 am. Truthfully, it was only place open in the morning in our small town.) I love the muted brown color pallette in most coffee shops, and think it lends itself nicely to a warm, wintry, wedding feeling. I went to a wedding last winter year with a coffee and espresso bar, and that would be a great touch for any cold weather affair.






This board is inspired by my favorite food: strawberries. With a red and pink pallette (and a short dress!), I think a strawberry theme could be delightfully kitschy - and I'm a sucker for some retro kitsch. How fun are the flowergirl wings?


Is anyone getting their color pallette from favorite foods? Anyone planning a kitschy wedding?

Wedding Things I Love Part 1

I feel like the best way to begin to talk about my own wedding is to talk about the details and styles that I love: the colors, shapes, and design elements that inspire my own event. There will be several parts to this "series" but I though I'd start with favorite detail first: the dress.

I love a short wedding dress, with its ability to retro, sassy, and still timeless. My mother and one of my older sisters were short dress brides (in 1964 and 1988, respectively), and I hope to be as well. Here are my most-adored images:



Any other short dress brides out there?

A summery soire

To contrast with this morning's wintry board, I thought I'd share something a little brighter. While pink is not usually one of my favorite colors for weddings (it seems as though every wedding I;ve ever been to has been pink and white, or pink and brown), mixing it with brights, like orange, yellow, and green, seems to make it fresher. I can imagine this as a fun, casual brunch with fruit salads, frittatas, and a fruit-filled wedding cake.

With this blog . . .

I am an avid wedding blog reader, a future bride, and a polyvore fanatic. As I began the wedding planning process, I became somewhat obessed with making inspiration boards, and I'd like to use this a way to share my ideas with you all, and also to chronicle my wedding planning experiences. I hope you enjoy.

A White Wonderland

I love the idea of a wedding with a "non-color" pallette, simply white, ivories, and creams, and think this would be perfect for an evening winter wedding. It seems so clean and modern, and still a little vintage - maybe that's the 1950s Rolls and the white dinner jacket talking.






Thank you for joining me!