Project Wedding Blog

PW and Papeterie have partnered together to offer a set of designer wedding invitations that match your wedding website or wedding map! One of my favorites is the Dogwood Branch invitation suite, which has a matching website and map!

Papeterie just redesigned their website, so please check it out and let me know what you think! Even better, they are offering a 10% discount exclusively to Project Wedding members! Enter the coupon code “projectwedWL” and get 10% off at Papeterie until October 31, 2009.

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If you are planning a bridal shower in October — consider these fall candy cups! How sweet are these as little table favors? I love the idea of getting into the spirit of the season by collecting leaves and assembling these, then filling them with candy!

In edible party goodies, I am in love with these precious pumpkin bite appetizers - another festive idea for a fall shower from the oh-so-talented Bakerella!

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I was digging through my email inbox for some much-needed inspiration and lo and behold, I found a hidden gem from last spring! The beautiful bride Jen sent some absolutely stunning images of her weddings in Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Thank you so much Jennifer for sharing your wedding with us, and congratulations to both you and Sean on beginning your life together as husband and wife!

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Some more beautiful images of Christina and Tim’s beautiful rustic wedding, taken by the ultra-talented Jen Badalamenti of JK Photography…

Some more sweet words from Christina, the bride who designed this absolutely awe-inspiring wedding…

The day started with the groom and groomsmen shooting clays at the groom’s great Aunt’s house. He then drove her 1939 Cadillac to his family farm where we had our “first look” photos taken. It was a great decision. The day flowed so well because of this. The guests were taken to the ceremony site (a tree with our initials carved in it in the middle of a grassfield) via vintage Farmall Tractors with wagons. I painted arrow signs with different words for “wedding” and put them on the path to the ceremony. Guests were given fan programs and signed a photo guest book. The wedding party walked down a path to the side with the ringbearer and 5 flowergirls came down the aisle. The ringbearer carried a ring dish that matched the groom’s cufflinks. Three of the flowergirls handed bundles of baby’s breath to guests while the other 2 dropped petals. I arrived via a horse and carriage. The clydesdale is Tim’s Mom’s and is beautiful. During the ceremony we chose to do a Celtic knot tying ceremony in lieu of a unity candle. Our families and guests really enjoyed this. We also presented our Mother’s with flower arrangements during the sign of peace. Lemonade was served in mini jar-mugs after the ceremony from a lemonade stand made by my Stepdad. We also made notes to be hung from the guests’ rearview mirror thanking them for coming.

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Christina, the lovely bride, emailed me the photos from her absolutely awe-inspiring red, white, and blue wedding. The wedding was held on July 4th at the groom’s family farm in Sturgis, Michigan. The images were masterly captured by JK Photography…

Here are a few words from the lovely bride herself…

We have been together for 8 1/2 years (since our sophomore year in high school) and our dream wedding came true. We did a lot of DIY projects including the invitations, programs, menus, table assignment cards, signs, card box (stump), table numbers, coloring books for the kids, and a lemonade stand.

The reception was absolutely beautiful. Riverside receptions has a river running on two sides of it and 2 breathtaking waterfalls in the landscaping. The guests mingled while they waited for the wedding party to arrive. Our cakes were modeled after our attire! The table numbers were important years in US History, we explained what happened in each year on table tents. Our card box was actually a card stump that Tim hollowed out and we hung our new initials on the front. We also took dance lessons and performed a waltz for our first dance, it was definitely worth the time and effort. The favors, Strawberry - Rhubarb Jam, were made by Tim’s Great Aunt Helen.

I really hope our wedding can help or inspire other brides!

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Every bride needs a little bag to hold her must-have items — lip gloss, powder and a touch of blush.  These clutches by Pretty Lulu Bridal are pretty close to perfect in my opinion — and all under $100!

The other amazing thing? You can choose your own patterns as well if you desire to venture away from the traditional:

In more good news, Pretty Lulu Bridal is offering 15% off this weekend! Learn more here and happy shopping!

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I think the “Global Love” wedding theme is really vintage and cute! Thus, the inspiration for this new post …

Anne Holman created these vintage, custom-made cufflinks — you can order any part of the world for your honey! One of our very own Guide articles reveals how you can map out your reception or party!

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I admire creative beings — and Michele M. Waite is one of those beings in the photography world!  I am loving the way she takes the traditional wedding band photos and puts her own unique spin on them!

She finds the natural beauty of a wedding setting and has quite a knack for incorporating the gorgeous colors of the surroundings into her photos. I heart that!!!

Images Courtesy: Michele M. Waite Photography

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I love the modern color palette in this elegant take on a traditional Chinese wedding…

photos by Laura Bruen

Fay, the bride, was kind enough to share some details of her day…

Being Chinese, it was very important to me and my family that we incorporated Chinese wedding traditions with David’s Catholic and American traditions.

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One Lovely Day is thrilled to welcome couture event designer, Kelly Oshiro of Santa Barbara Chic, with a guest post about the ins and outs of hosting an “off premise” wedding reception.

My name is Kelly Oshiro and I’m an event design and wedding planner based in Santa Barbara. Some of my favorite locations to work in are “off premise.” Off premise locations are basically the antithesis of a hotel—there is no catering on-site, and, depending on the location, there may be no power, water, or bathrooms!

Image Courtesy: Santa Ynez Vacation Rentals

I always strongly encourage any couple who chooses this type of location to hire a wedding planner.  I recommend this not just because it’s my business, but because these locations require event production skills that no person innately has. The most important thing to understand about these types of locations is that they are very labor intensive and can quickly become quite pricey. However, they also tend to be the most beautiful sites with estates, ranches, and farms falling into this category.

Image Courtesy: Kelly Oshiro Events

With this in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the questions you should ask when looking at these type of locations, as well as a general range of the costs involved in getting your fantasy location ready for your wedding.

Image Courtesy: Harper Smith Photography

1. Is there power on-site?

If there is not, you will need to bring in a generator and lights. Depending on what you’re doing and where you live, I would anticipate the cost for a generator rental to be around $1,000 -$1,500.  The cost for lighting is variable since it depends entirely on how complicated, and therefore labor intensive, you want it to be.

2. Are there bathrooms?

If not, very nice VIP portapotty’s can be rented that have hand washing sinks inside the unit and bear no resemblance to their music festival cousins. A single standalone unit runs about $250 or so. These types of units generally have water and lights already inside the unit, so they can be placed anywhere. There’s also the trailer type of bathroom. These have stalls in the unit and look like an ordinary bathroom. These require water and power to make them work. Also- don’t forget to light the way to the bathrooms!

Image Courtesy: Harper Smith Photography

3. Are their tables, chairs, linens, and china?

This is where most off-premise locations vary a bit. Some do provide tables and chairs, while other provide nothing. If they do have some items, ask for an itemized list so you can figure out what else you’ll need to rent. If they provide chairs, make sure to take a look at them; they may be too big or unattractive for your taste. The cost for renting these items depends greatly on your guest count and whether or not you want upgraded chairs, linens, glasswear, china, etc.  For best cost estimates, get a quote from a good local rental company.

Image Courtesy: Harper Smith Photography

4. Is there a kitchen on site?

Again, off premise locations will vary as to what they have. Some will have a full kitchen ready to use, others may only have a warming kitchen, while still others have nothing at all. In the case that nothing is there, generally a kitchen tent, 10’ x 20’ will need to be brought in, along with ovens, tables, and so on. Your caterer will handle exactly what they need and they will also handle the general rental order as well (assuming you don’t have a wedding planner). The cost for bringing in a kitchen ranges from $1,000-$2,500 depending on what type of meal you’re serving (plated versus buffet, for instance).

5. When can rentals be delivered?

Ideally, you want everything delivered the Friday before the event, and picked up on the following Monday. Time and day of deliveries and pick ups may result in extra costs. Also, it’s much easier to handle the installation 24 hours before the wedding, versus 5 hours before. Stuff breaks, accidents happened, and all those little problems that pop up during production are no big deal when you have the time to deal with them.

6. How does trash need to be disposed of?

Some locations have a dumpster on site, others will ask you to take it off site at the end of the event. Some caterers will remove the trash for you and others won’t. If not, call your local trash company and arrange for a dumpster to be delivered. The cost is nominal, usually a few hundred dollars.

7. Is there parking on site?

Again, these locations vary a bit. Some will have parking only for vendors, others will require valet, but most often, these sites have no parking at all. In this scenario, guests will need to be shuttled from their hotels or from a central meeting point. This can become logistically complicated, so I always recommend booking hotel blocks at a couple of hotels at different price points so you’ll have a good idea where your guests are staying. An invitation insert, wedding website, and a welcome bag with the transportation information also helps this go smoothly. Transportation generally costs about $800 per bus (seating about 40), so budget accordingly.

Hopefully these questions will help you pick the perfect site for your wedding and help you budget accordingly!

Tags: estate wedding, farm wedding, off premise reception, ranch wedding, wedding budget.