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Archive for category Wedding Themes
Chic Damask Ties for Your Groom
Posted by Crystal in Damask Weddings
Another great find that I know our Jill is going to love (for those who don’t know, Jill is the bride who blogs here at Budget Dreams and she is planning a Damask themed wedding). These ties are handmade and are available from Fantasy Vintage Wear on Etsy. They would be a great touch for a Damask themed wedding!

Monograms!!!
Posted by Jill in Damask Weddings, Hot Trends
I don’t know what J and I could possibly need a custom monogram for, but that sure doesn’t keep me from wanting one. Have you ever typed “custom monogram” into Etsy. OMG. Hello, stealer of my time and obsession of my soul. Etsy found 10,032 results for Custom Monogram. 10,032. And I pined after each and ever one of them. (Actually, I only got to page 20 before I decided I’d opened enough new tabs to keep me busy for a while.)
Here are a few of my favorites
I love this sash. I think it’s beautiful, elegant, classy, timeless, all those things I aspire to be!
I think there are probably a gazillion things you could do with it, but I think it’s wonderful tied around the bouquet as they show it. Or maybe as a sash around my dress? Who knows!
This is available through Etsy seller, Michael Angela, she’s got oodles of other wedding related items that warrant your perusal. Check out the “New MRS.” aprons too. I’m a sucka for aprons.
Here’s another fav. Personalized wedding monograms. Yes. PERSONALIZED. For… get this… FIVE DOLLARS!!!!!!! Etsy seller Double Trouble Designs also has a blog… on which I’ve spent wayyyyyyy too much time. I feel like I need about 20 different personalized monograms. How do you choose?!?!? And where exactly do they go?? Yes, on our programs would be nice. And maybe somewhere on our invitations? But where else? I’m not sure… but that’s not going to stop me from buying one… or 20….

Damask Wedding Favor Idea
Posted by Crystal in Damask Weddings
It’s late here and I’m tired – but I just saw these on Beau Coup and they made my think of Jill (in case you didn’t know, she’s the other gal who writes here at Dream Weddings). She’s been filling the blog with damask wedding theme ideas as she plans her own damask themed wedding and I know she’ll love these tealight holders!
These are for you Jill – enjoy:)
Twilight Themed Weddings
Posted by Crystal in Twilight Theme
When the Twilight madness first started, I avoided it like the plague. I hadn’t read the books. I didn’t go see the movie. It just didn’t interest me. And then, I spent an afternoon at my sister’s place last year and she wanted to watch. I have to admit – I loved it! I have since bought and read all four books. And yes – I totally love the idea of a Twilight themed wedding!
First – a little eye candy – A friend of mine who also happens to be a cake decorator (Tantalizing Treats) posted this picture of a Twilight themed cake she made for a client. I love how she worked all four books into the design while still keeping that clean, simply look.
Now – let’s go back to the book and look at the different aspects that make up a Twilight wedding and see what budget friendly tips we can drag out at the same time.
Make A Grand Entrance:
Alice used thousands white lights and bows to decorate trees along the long driveway into the Cullens’ estate where Bella’s wedding took place. This is a great way to set the scene and build excitement as guests arrive. And – it could also be a great way to make a big impact on a budget. Chances are you will have plenty of friends and family members willing to lend you their clear Christmas lights and if you need more, these can often be rented for a fairly small price.
The Dress:
Bella’s wedding gown was a vintage style early 1900′s gown with modern updates to the train and veil. InStyle recently had a number of designers submit sketches for what they thought Bella’s gown would look like. Here are a few of my favorites:


For a budget bride – the key is to look for something with that elegant, vintage feel. True vintage styles are a great place to start but new gowns with soft flowing fabrics and touches of lace are also a great choice. Here are a couple of my favorites from House of Brides:



Penelope from the Wtoo Collection ($435 on House of Brides), Emily from Jessica McClintock ($290 on House of Brides) and T833 from Jasmine Couture.
The Music:
Live, classical music is a must for any Twilight themed music. Rosalie played Pachelbel’s Canon prior to the ceremony followed by Wagner’s traditional march. A piano is also a great touch in honor of Edward. If you have a limited budget, a great selection of prerecorded classical music is an affordable alternative. If finances allow you may want to incorporate some live music into the ceremony and opt for a DJ and prerecorded music for the reception.
The Flowers and Decor:
While many Twilight inspiration boards use the White and Red tulips from the Twilight cover – Bella’s bouquet was actually all white with roses, orange blossoms and freesia. The ceremony area was decorated with hundreds of white flowers and white ribbon with white satin covered chairs. The ceremony took place in front of an archway covered in white flowers and more ribbon. Now – budget brides are probably cringing at the price of all those flowers – but there are alternatives. Start with the chairs – white chair covers can be rented and that already creates a big impact. Play up the white theme with a white aisle runner (rent) and white silk flower petals (ebay). For a great DIY project, how about lining your aisles with all white versions of these carnation toparies using silk carnations for big impact without big cost? Draping white tulle is also another great, affordable way to add to the all-white glamor.
What do you think? What things would you incorporate into a Twilight themed wedding?
I Need a Crowbar…
Posted by Jill in Damask Weddings, Real Weddings
To cram everything I have to do during Christmas break into my schedule!! Mom and I are fairly certain we’ll find “the dress” while I’m home for a week during Christmas. That means some major shopping. I leave in 32 minutes for the airport! I’ll be home this afternoon! Yay!
Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m not the most organized person in the world. If you’ve ever lived with me, you’re probably a. chuckling, b. rolling your eyes, c. thanking God that you don’t live with me anymore.
But I’m working on a timeline of sorts to schedule all of our “to do’s” in a logical fashion. Sorry, Mom, I hope you don’t plan on sleeping… I mean there are a lot of stores I’d still like to visit and lots of family and friends’ opinions I’d still like to hear. Not to mention visiting the florist, the centerpiece lady, scouting a good engagement pic location/taking engagement pics (OMG, more on the panic this incites soon), meeting with a videographer, 4 dress appointments (proably more), trying to get in a few good workouts. ON TOP of all of the Christmas festivities. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to cram AWHOLELOT into a VERY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME? It seems like there should be some kind of “stay on track” scheduling program available to brides to be’s, do you know of any??
One handy wedding planning splurge that I made was this black and white damask organizer from Brides found at Michaels, I think it was around $30, which was wayyyyyyyyyyy too much to spend on it. But it was one of those things I HAD to have!! haha! Hopefully it will help me with this crazy upcoming week!
Jacket for Winter Wedding Dresses
Posted by Crystal in Winter Weddings
If you’re planning a winter wedding you’ve probably already come across a common problem: how do you keep warm and look great without compromising on the dress of your dreams? Even those dresses that have sleeves are usually lacy or shear so warmth is just not likely.
There are a number of options that you can consider. One of my all time favorites is this adorable faux fur lined jacket from Forever Yours. It’s available from House of Brides for $210 and not only does it look hot but it will provide a lot more warmth then lacy sleeves and it looks good enough that you might not want to take it off when you get inside lol

If this isn’t the look you are going for, there are other options you can look at. Other popular options include shawls which you drape over your arms while you are outside, shrugs (mini jackets) and full capes for a more traditional winter bride look.
Damask Overload
Posted by Jill in Damask Weddings
My name is Jill and I’m a damask addict. My eye is drawn to it like a magnet! It has taken me over. It is an obsession. It has taken the utmost self control to refrain from buying everything in damask. I have to admit, it’s been a struggle to distinguish what could REALLY be used for the wedding, and what would just be a waste of money and space. And frankly, I consider it a miracle that I’ve done so well, my house COULD be dripping in damask by now.
Hobby Lobby, Home Goods, Michaels, and Garden Ridge present the biggest tests to my self control. It seems everywhere I turn there is some damask trinket that I’m dying to own. I shouldn’t even go in these stores. I mean seriously. Do I NEED a damask Chinese take out box? Damask wrapping paper? Damask napkins? Damask throw pillows? Damask wall stickers? Damask shelf organizers?



I’m a creative girl; can’t I find SOME wedding related use for these things? But alas,
I know better, and despite these and countless other items beckoning me, I have stuck SOLELY to things that I KNOW I will use in the wedding, rather than trying my hardest to come up with a use for a damask bicycle. Yes. A. Damask. Bicycle. (J recommended that I RIDE down the aisle on it, rather than merely walking! Haha!)
There’s a Garden Ridge a mile from where I work. Yikes! I could do some SERIOUS damask damage in there. I found a 10 x 20 black frame with a damask mat before I was even engaged. I’ve been waiting and waiting for it to go on sale. But the more I wait, the more I think I could probably make just as nice of a frame using a cheapo frame (I’m sure I have one somewhere) and some damask paper. AHA! I KNEW I’d come up with a reason to buy that damask wrapping paper! Yes!
Come to Our Wedding…. Or ELSE!
Posted by Jill in Damask Weddings, Invitations, Real Weddings
I recognize that not everyone has the quirky off beat sense of humor I have (or THINK I have, I do have to explain a disproportionate number of my jokes to my beloved)…. BUT I was playing around on Zazzle the other day and created this….
Yes. It says “come to our wedding or we’ll kick your butt”. I thought it was hysterical. In fact it made me laugh out loud. Literally. I showed J. He laughed out loud. I showed my mom. She laughed out loud. See, it’s funny because neither J nor I would ever hurt a fly.
This pic was taken right after we got in a horrible car accident and J’s face made friends with the windshield. On a side note, PLEASE don’t text and drive. J and I were driving in the slow lane of the interstate and a car slammed into the back of us, catapulted us across three lanes of interstate traffic, we crashed into the cement median and spun around so we were facing traffic. We ended up with some bumps, bruises, cuts, and a broken nose… but we could have easily been killed.
The driver of the other car was texting. (If you still need convincing watch this video *warning, it’s graphic*).
Anyway, back to Zazzle. I’m pretty much obsessed with it. As I mentioned in a previous post, we already have our invites, but since so many of our guests are coming from out of town, there’s no way to get around sending Save the Dates. I think the most cost effective way to send STD’s is to send the post card version. And since I double as a photographer and J and I have enough pictures of ourselves to fill a municipal library… I thought it would only be fitting to have a photo on our STD’s. Here are some options… What do you think?
You see curtains…. I see TABLE RUNNERS!
Posted by Jill in DIY Weddings, Damask Weddings, Decorations, Wedding Themes

I’ve searched high and low to find black and white damask linens. (Yes, I recognize that my priorities might be slightly scewed, as we have no date nor venue… but I digress.) Other damask brides have gone to great measures and great expense to get their ideal table linens. They fret over the exact right pattern of damask. Whether it is white on black or black on white. They have their pattern SILK SCREENED onto fabric. They enlist MIL’s to sew countless runners. And have them re-sew them if they are slightly off center. They spend $20 per runner. Or buy $15 yard fabric from some fabric wholesaler in China.
I have to say, after reading their stories, I was ready to throw in the towel and go with some other color scheme.
That’s where my beloved Craigslist comes in. I have no idea why I was searching under the “Household” tab, probably searching for SOMETHING wedding related! And I came across a post for a black and white damask bedding set. This woman was selling her King sized comforter, pillows and curtains. Thankfully she sold me her curtains seperatly… as much as I love damask I’m not so sure I want to sleep on it… For $30 I got four LOVELY panels of curtains. They are BEAUTIFUL! I am going to cut each panel into three runners (or have my wonderful, beautiful, talented mother do it!). 12 runners for $30! Not too shabby!
Maybe I should rent them out to those ladies that are on their way to the silk screeners…
A-ha Moments
Posted by Jill in Damask Weddings, Invitations, Real Weddings
I’ve had a significant number of “that’s it” aha moments during the course of our lengthy engagement… and a few important ones pre-engagement too!!
J and I are both television producers at the same television network. In fact our offices are right across the hall from each other… which I think is cool… But our co-workers probably get sick of me yelling out “J come here I have to show you these custom monograms/bridesmaid’s bouquets/centerpiece mock-ups”… who am I kidding, I’m sure he gets sick of it too, but the wonderful fiancé he is, he rarely acts disinterested!
At the very beginning of our relationship J and I were in St. Louis, my home town, for an even our television network was putting on. Since the event was in my hometown I went as an attendee, he went to work. I drove 10 hours to get there. He flew non-stop 1 hour to get there. The girl I drove with ended up getting ill and flying back, so I was stuck by myself to drive 10 hours without any company. J offered to give up his quick and easy flight to join me on the loooong drive… in a compact car! His sacrifice spoke volumes to me. That’s the official moment when I knew he was the “one”!
I had the same aha moment when J and I were shopping for rings. I put one on that I thought was way out of the budget but “knew” it was the “one”. I felt like Cinderella when I tried it on. And felt like the luckiest girl alive when he popped the question with it! I still catch myself staring at it! And I still feel like the luckiest girl alive!
Not long after J proposed I found myself in a Michael’s (let’s be honest girls, isn’t that where most newly engaged diy budget brides find themselves!? Haha). And came across this LOVELY black and white damask invitation set, by Brides. I “knew” they were our invitations. Despite the fact that I hadn’t done ANY invitation research yet, I called my mom and she bought every box in the St. Louis area, with a 50% off coupon. Cheapo! Can’t wait to find some great ways to make them a little more custom. Maybe a belly band? Or a great monogram? Who knows, I just loved them and knew they would set the tone for our dreamy delightful diy damask wedding!











