The last time I was a bridesmaid the flowers were beautiful ... but crazy heavy. I literally could not hold the bouquet with one hand, which made walking in a floor-length gown downright dangerous. So I was looking out for bouquets that were on the smaller side, but would still have some drama and make a statement.
My advice: Think about the overall look for you and your bridesmaids when you head to the florist. I brought pictures of everyone's dresses and the venue so she could see what the rest of the wedding would look like. Also, do a little research on flower pricing. Some, like peonies, are ridiculously expensive most of the year and can jack up the price of an otherwise-reasonable bouquet. But there's almost always a cheaper alternative that's just as pretty.
Photo 10/16
Bouquets: My Version
Sunflowers were an obvious choice for my bridesmaids. They worked with the color scheme and matched their black dresses. Bonus: sunflowers are one of the cheapest flowers you can buy, which was great for my budget. For my bouquet, I wanted something a little softer, so I used pale yellow lilies and a few gardenias (pricey, but they're my other favorite flower and were also in my mom's wedding bouquet, so they were important to me).
Photo 11/16
Cupcakes: The Inspiration
This may have been the only aspect of my wedding I had thought about pre-engagement, purely because of my sweet tooth snobbery. At every wedding I've been to I've eagerly waited for dessert -- and far too often I'm bummed out by the same old sheet cake. Initially, I wanted a full-on dessert bar with every type of pastry imaginable, but then reality (otherwise known as our budget) kicked in and I knew I'd have to scale back.
So I went with my current favorite treat: cupcakes. I liked the idea because they still felt wedding-y, since they are technically cake, but they're easier to eat while standing than your typical slice and I could get them in a few different flavors.
Photo 12/16
Cupcakes: My Version
My tower looked a little different than my inspiration pic -- I ended up going with the sunflower decorations over the beachy theme -- but it's a similar idea. I also chose three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and hazelnut. The first two because they're crowd-pleasers and the hazelnut because it was by far the best thing I tried throughout my super-fun cake-tasting process.
Photo 13/16
Hair: The Inspiration
I rarely wear my hair up, so a structured updo wasn't an option for my wedding day. Instead I looked for pictures with soft waves and curls that felt more "me." But I had been told by a recently married friend that after hours of photos, dancing, and hugging aunt Muriel, the last thing I'd want is a bunch of hair in my face. So I also started looking for pretty headbands that would help with this.
Some women dream about their weddings, gather inspiring wedding pics, and practically plan out every detail of their big days from the time they are little girls.
I was not one of those women.
It wasn't that I was anti-marriage or anything, but outside a fleeting desire to end up with Leonardo DiCaprio after I saw "Romeo + Juliet" in junior high, I just never daydreamed much about weddings -- and I certainly didn't spend my downtime dog-earing photos in bridal magazines.
This wasn't really an issue, until, eventually, I got engaged. Suddenly, everyone from my future mother-in-law to strangers at the grocery store were asking about the minute details of my pending wedding. And I had no idea what to say.
To the rescue: The Internet and all its wedding blog glory. I gorged myself on beautiful inspiration pics of every type of wedding imaginable until I gained some sense of what I liked -- and more importantly, what I hated.
Once I had gathered my own arsenal of wedding inspiration, I had a tougher task in front of me. Most of the photos I loved came from weddings or wedding photo shoots that were professionally done -- or done by amazingly crafty people who had (I'm assuming) far more money and free time than I did. How was I going to make this wedding a reality?
Keep reading to see how I pulled it off -- and get some useful tips for planning your own wedding without losing too much of your sanity.
