Biggest hit at our wedding? The favors!

When we started thinking about favors for our wedding, we knew we wanted to do something really fun/cool...what better than Jones Sodas?! I mean, our last name is Jones after all!! Once we decided on fell in love with this idea, the obvious choice was to look into ordering personalized bottles from the company (because personalized bottles are so much cooler!). Unfortunately, they would have been close to $600 after shipping...not something we could afford. :(

Time to start brainstorming again, right? Wrong!! Why not make our own?! Mr Jones is a photographer and quite handy with Photoshop (if I do say so myself). This would be an easy project for him. After we talked it over and came up with a Game Plan, I tasked him with making the labels. I absolutely love how they turned out!!

And, our cost was a lot less - BONUS.

Labels - we made a different one for each flavor


Taking off the old labels...


And putting on new ones!


The finished product at our reception! :)



P.S. The barcodes were altered so the bottles cannot be returned for a deposit.

The Newlywed Game...at our wedding?!

While planning the reception, I knew I didn't really want to have a bouquet or garter toss. Call me non-traditional, call me a non-conformist...I just knew they weren't for me. Before becoming Mrs Jones, I was always the single girl who tried my darnedest to avoid going out onto the dance floor for the bouquet toss.

Not having a bouquet or garter toss left a gap in the reception, but my DJ was quick with an awesome suggestion...The Newlywed Game! Both Mr Jones and I had to take off our shoes and give one to the other person. Then, the DJ asked questions and we raised the shoe of who our answer was. Some of the questions were:
Who is the biggest flirt? (Me...haha!)
Who is the better cook? (Him...without a doubt!!)
Who has the crazier family? (Him...and we agreed)
And my favorite...Who do you love the most in the world?

My sister-in-law got some pictures...so I thought I'd share. :)

Woo hoo...we're moving on up!

(at least in the wedding we are)

I posted last week that we were possibly going to be upgraded to the bigger reception room. Well, I heard back from the event coordinator and we are in fact moving on up (upstairs, that is). I am really excited. The room upstairs has its own private lobby (vs. being in the hallway where all the Lodge guests would walk by), is twice the size as the previous reception room, and has high, vaulted ceilings. Plus, the decor is a lot more sparse/subtle so I can play around with lighting - woo hoo!

Upstairs Lobby - the guestbook and escort cards will be set up out here. There's also private bathrooms - guess that means I better start working on bathroom baskets! :)


Looking towards the dance floor - the DJ will be set up against the far wall


The room (head table on left by the windows)


The vaulted ceiling (see me over by the door? Haha!)

My first (and favorite) DIY - Table Numbers

Throughout the planning process, I've been trying to find a way to include my kitty loves in the wedding. Unfortunately, as much as I want them to, they can't come to the wedding (though I'm sure some of their fur will be with me in some way as it always is). The logical way to include them is in the table numbers...but I wanted to do something a little different than Photoshopping numbers onto existing photos of them. Enter my spin on the pet table numbers! :)

First step was going to Hobby Lobby (LOVE that store) to buy 3-D cardboard numbers --- the easy part.

Second step was getting the kitties to cooperate --- the-not-so easy part. Sammy is super laidback/tolerant so I knew he wouldn't be any trouble. Bo, on the other hand, has a tendency to be a bit skittish. It was an interesting project, to say the least. But Mr Jones and I had fun...not so sure about the kitties.

A few of my favorites:







You can see the full set of the numbers here. (Photo credit goes to Mr Jones, of course...I was just the cat wrangler.)

While I still love the original plan for table numbers (and would have used if not for my insane love for the kitties), I felt there was something missing. Not anymore...my loveys will be there with us after all. :)

Wedding Guestbook is ordered! :)

After obsessing over working on the photo guestbook for our wedding for at least a month (I wanted to make sure it was perfect), I finally ordered it! Mr Jones helped me celebrate this momentous occasion with a kiss. I am really happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

Click here to view this photo book larger

Paper Lanterns = LOVE

I love paper lanterns. There's just something magical about them. They create a romantic, intimate atmosphere...exactly what I want for my reception. Paper lanterns are so basic and simple, yet they are just so...perfect. What's not to love about them?!

I haven't decided if I want to hang them in a big group or spread out over the dance floor. Opinions?

Wednesday's Wedding Deal

Lucky for me, my reception venue provides a lot of the necessary linens (tablecloths and napkins); however, a lot of brides don't have this luxury and have to stress over where to find discounted linens so as to stay within the *gulp* budget. Thankfully, there are websites such as Table Linens for Less that offer awesome deals. I mean, can you beat $0.83 per napkin?? They have a lot of great deals so shop away, my fellow Brides-to-be!

Isn't this table setting gorgeous?? I am in love...I wish it was my table setting, but I'm not that lucky. Haha!

Our days (and tables) are numbered

Ever since we got engaged, I knew I wanted to incorporate Mr Jones' photography in our wedding. Since I vetoed him taking his own wedding pictures (haha!), I had to find another way to tie in his photography/creativity. Thanks to a fellow Knottie over at 7.25.09 WED, I finally figured out how. She posted this awesome idea about taking photographs of numbers found around town and using them as table numbers. I loved it! I immediately asked Mr Jones if he was up to it and he loved the idea too. He's officially been tasked with taking Cam (i.e. his camera) around town/the apartments/wherever to take photos of unique and/or pretty numbers. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

Another check off the Wedding To-Do List

After spending all day yesterday moving Mr Jones into our new apartment (pictures to come after I move in), we decided it was time to take a break from unpacking and organizing. Rather than be *completely* lazy, we pulled out the paperwork for the reception site and got to work choosing our menu/drink selection. I'm so excited to check another To-Do item off the list. I felt like I haven't been getting much done lately.

Hooray for reception decorations!

Mom and I met with the florist a couple weeks ago and, let me tell you, she has some awesome ideas. I am very excited to see how it all comes together!

On half of the tables, she will doing a floral arrangement...complete with grapevine balls and pheasant feathers (LOVE IT). On the other half of the tables, we will have wooden lanterns similar to this with grapevines and a few flowers:


My task was to find candles for the tables as well as for inside the lanterns. Enter the bargain hunter side of Taryn. I managed to stumble across Candles 4 Less and bought 72 (yes, 72!) votive candles and holders for $37! They will be perfect for adding "twinkle" to the reception tables. :) If you're looking for cheap candles, be sure to head over to Candles 4 Less!

Centerpieces

Next task...the centerpieces. Again, I searched The Knot for inspiration. My plan is to have 1/2 of the table with floral arrangements. I'm not sure what to do with the other 1/2. Any suggestions?