frugalista's biography
FI and I love movies. One of our favorites is Harlem Nights. So our wedding will have a Harlem Nights/Harlem Renaissance/Old Hollywood/Vintage Glam theme.
Some art deco dresses for inspiration. The first one is Jenny Packham. I don't remember who the second designer is.
I love stationary. The more intricate, the better. Unfortunately, I can't afford intricate paper goods. Fortunately, I've found some reasonable vendors, talented friends and DIY instructions. Hopefully with all of these, I'll be able to create the wedding stationary of my dreams. Here's some of my inspiration.
While researching our wedding theme, I have stumbled across the world of vintage ephemera. I've found that things can be made to look vintage with stamps, tags, fonts, etc. Here are a few examples.
These are by TessaKim @ tessakim.com. However....they are not in my price range. I'm going to try to DIY the one with the pearl brooch, lace and feathers. My mom found a similar pearl brooch in a vintage shop that she bought when she found out I was considering making my own hair flower/fascinator.
We have been toying around with the idea of displaying vintage posters at the reception and maybe even using one as a Save The Date. The first one is a custom poster done by Alexander & Co. They make vintage inspired posters
with your wedding info on them. Love!!! The rest are vintage movie posters. 
I'm debating on whether to display them on easels or to try to create a wall/art installation to make it look like an art gallery. These are from blackclassicmovies.com.
My fiance's parents are Ghanaian. We will have a traditional Ghanaian engagement ceremony the night before the wedding in lieu of the rehearsal dinner. I'll add a page about the ceremony later. Looking for something to wear with traditional fabric but an unusual design. I'll probably get my mom to sew it. She's amazing. This long dress is beautiful, but.... I may get something short that I can wear again later and just get a long skirt to wear under it for the actual ceremony. Don't want to offend with something too short.
Depending on the color of the fabric I may wear gold or silver strappy sandals. I already have some Chinese Laundry gold sandals that are similar to these. I have some silver Guess sandals that I've never worn. I'll add them if I can find an online pic.
Might try to DIY a statement necklace to go with, but I'm not sure where to start with something like this. Maybe I can find an online tutorial for bib necklaces?
I initially wanted a bouquet of cream or blush peonies. Don't these look like scoops of vanilla ice cream?
But then I saw these...
.....and these in vintage tins.
I think I can find a way to make them all fit. Don't you?
Not in love with the idea of floral bouttonieres. Real ones get crushed. Fake ones might be a little too labor intensive to DIY, knowing that men don't care about flowers anyway. Thinking of using pocketsquares to match the ties and some cute personalized button on the lapel like so...
In my mind, I've been fighting with myself over what to use for bridesmaids bouquets that would be unique but not cheesy. Look at these, at the bottom of the second photo. I think they are fabric and balsawood flowers....And... I have some brooches that I bought to put on their dresses, but they would be perfect here!
Wasn't planning on having a reception dress, but then I saw these....
....and these by Figgie Shoes! How bada** would these be with a short reception dress?!? I think I can paint them myself, though. I'm headed over to Offbeat Bride to check out the tutorial. I'll keep you posted.
This dress caught my eye in the David's Bridal catalogue when I first started looking for dresses. I ultimately decided on a long gown for the ceremony and pictures, but I'm revisiting the idea of using it as a reception dress (see the painted shoe posts above). I think I'll stop into David's Bridal one day this week and see if it's part of the $99 sale. If it is, I'm so getting it....
This is similar to what I thought about doing for displaying my ceremony programs, But instead of photos, I thought I might decorate the back of a vintage suitcase with vintage items like gloves, jewelry, hat, vintage postcard, feathers. We'll see what I can come up with. Pic is from Ruffled (formerly Vomtage Glam Wedding Blog) by photographer Katherine Obrien.
This is gorgeous! I wonder if I could do some variation on this for centerpieces. Or hang it from an arch or huppah at the ceremony? Love it!
This beauty is a one-of-a-kind from DolorisPetunia on Etsy. Even if it wasn't the only one, I couldn't afford it. I wonder if I can make this? This would be perfect for our PreWedding Extravaganza!
Look at these candles from $5 French Market! They're $5 for 2 candles. If I incorporate this into my reception decor, I'll need way more than 2. I wonder if I can get a good result from stamping my own candles and ribbon. Dollar store candles, discount fabric...I smell a DIY!
