Fall Leaves brings wonderful Change

I'm still learning this whole blog idea but I do like to keep updating it -As always in the ever changing life of James and Kaet - there has been many changes since May. 

James has now been working at Niceville United Methodist Church in Niceville, FL as the Recreation Minister for almost 6 full months.  It has been such a blessing for his heart and his passions. We found the perfect townhouse literally 2 minutes from work - so James can ride his bike or walk to work...something he enjoys tremendously.  He recently also traded his truck for a 1997 Navy Jeep Cherokee - James being the incredible husband he his, decided to knock off a car payment and trade for something that left up debt free! It has been a fun transition seeing that it's standard and I haven't driven one of those in forever - Many adventures to come I am sure of it :)

I'm currently located in Paducah, KY staying with a great friend in PA school.  I have been here for 2 months, sleeping on an air mattress while I finish out my mandatory rotations for my clinical year in the PA Program.  I have earned a new appreciation for all of the wives who live without their husbands on a consistent basis.  Often I feel as if I am missing a body part being away from James - How quickly I realized how James and I underappreciate our relationship!  We truly were taking for granted having each other "there" physically every day and now appreciate it so much more.  Thanks to Jesus and some wonderful doctors in Florida, I will be able to relocate home Nov 12!  I will still have to bounce around a bit - I will be at home until Jan 4th - then I will be at a rotation in Jacksonville for 6 weeks (still much closer!) and then come home for 6 additional weeks and then end with a finale in Paducah, KY for 6 final weeks - I can see the end of the light at the tunnel. My roomate and friend in Paducah have kept me entertained while I have been away from James though - with trips to explore places such as Niceville! Heres a pic of them!

Stress still gets to me - but I throw myself into baking and lately crafting for the new house!  I have set up my crafting room at the new town house with all my sewing, crafting, painting and baking gear - Heres a look at some of my recent crafting adventures: 1st is my art desk I restored and "antiqued" that is now in the biggest closet in the so called man room.

 In May we also added a member to the family - We rescued him from the most wonderful animal refuge ever, Alaqua Animal Refuge near Freeport, Florida - His name is Coal and he is a blue-tick coonhound/Black Lab mix - He has grown very quickly as you might can see by the photos!

He is the sweetest and cuddlest little man in the world - He is very much a bird dog and will chase after any scent he smells right away - We are currently saving up to build both him and my sweet german shephard Callie a fence so he can chase all the squirrels he possibly can.  Coal loves the dog park in Niceville!  

Peace, Joy and Love until I can blog once more!

Kaet & James

Mr. & Mrs. Welton - 05.21.2011

Well the BIG DAY went off with out many hitches - can't say without any but that only made for more adventure.  My little Leena is married!  As promised I told you I would document the days homemade details as much as possible - AFTER doing this for my sister I would strongly discourage the Bride from doing this all herself because it would be WAY to stressful for her alone! But if you are a friend wanting to help - Plan away!

The Flowers

I had practiced and practiced but its never the same as the day of - With only a minor hitch in the order (80 gerbers short) that actually turned out to be the biggest blessing ever - the Flowers turned out beautiful and JUST what i had envisioned.

Hot pink and Green were FLASHING everywhere!  With the AMAZING help of my Aunt Karen (she made all the coursages and boutineers) we were able to accomplish all the bouquets and centerpiece daisies.  At the last minute I decided not to slice the limes because in a test run, the lime juice had been to acidic for the daisies to sit in overnight.  The flowers were refrigerated at my church in an industrial refrigerator, and i must say for anyone doing flowers on there own - THIS WAS KEY to keeping them so fresh for the day of.  If this is a challenge you desire to take on, It saved us over 800 dollars to do on our own.  We ordered wholesale through Winn Dixie in Bluewater and they were fantastic.

The Ceremony Decor

Colleen wanted the church really simple - as previously blogged - I made the pomanders for the reserved pew markers.  They ended up looking wonderful.  Originally, we had planned a fall wedding and were going to do curly willow branches with hanging crystals for the reception decor...so i had ordered 180ft of jewels BEFORE Leena changed her mind.  So i put my mind to the challenge and used them wherever I could including the aisle candles and candlebras - our church coordinator loved them so much I donated them to the church!  It added such elegance to the ceremony - instant LOVE for me!

The only live flowers we used were on the Alter candles - added real gerbers for a little pop on stage - was perfect :)  Had a lot of bubbles left from my wedding so we decided to make the exit from the church bubble filled and thanks to our amazing photographer - Kailyn Paris of K.P. Photography http://www.kpphotography.org/ we caught some amazing shots!

The Reception

Now, it was time to party.  Colleen had expressed that she wanted a cupcake wedding cake - so after MUCH practice and a LOT of eggs, flour and sugar all 200 cupcakes made it onto the homemade wedding cake blinging cupcake tower.  She also requested a homemade cheesecake for the top layer, for her and Eric to cut - so one, two, three...thank you Ina Garten for your fabulous cheesecake recipe - It was finished.  First was making the cupcake wedding cake topper - I had priced around to all the jeweled metal toppers and they were REALLY expensive....sooo I found a wooden W at Hobby Lobby for 1.00, painted it white then silver and hot glued what seemed like 1,000 but prob not rhinestones on it.

SOO the second task was to make the actual tower - After MUCH internet research on buying or renting - I decided to attempt to create my own.  I went to Home Depot and bought 1 large panel of MDF Board.  The layers required  3 20"  3 16"  2 12" square pieces which the wonderful Gentlemen at Home Depot cut out for me.  Then we bought Gorilla Glue, 7 2 1/2in pipe ends, metallic silver spray paint and 1/2 gallon of "blushing piglet" interior flat paint and 5 crystal drawer handles.

I painted each MDF Board sqaure with 3 coats of paint first and allowed to dry - as well as spray painted the PVC pipe ends with the silver.

My husband and father then drilled the door knobs into the bottom piece of MDF Board - 4 on each corner and 1 in the center for stability.  I carefully with eyes at each side measured, centered and gorilla glued the PVC pipe inbetween each layer - I forgot to say the height was 3 1/2 in tall.  After letting it dry, I worked my way up to the top layer. I did make one false calculation which we discovered in transport - DON'T be afraid to gorrilla glue like crazy - too much is always better than not enough!  SOOO the finished product was just what she wanted - We had previously made the gift boxes as "Take Home" boxes for the cupcakes - They each had their initials and date - that was a great treat for guests AND saved me from eating a ton of left over cupcakes!

The reception location was right on the beach but it still had a bar type feel to it - Colleen really wanted to make it feel dressier - sooo my brain went into to overdrive with the next idea of again using my extra beads to create a chandelier with a tent like effect over the head table and dance floor.  Thanks to some awesome hanging techniques of Dad and Hubby - IT TURNED OUT JUST like what was in my mind!

All it required was 2 different size wooden knitting hoops from Michaels - spray painted in the same metallic silver - with the same length beads hung every 2 1/2 inches.  For the fabric I used the already cut panels from Walmart, split them in half and then sewed the two halfs into one long panel - THEN tied onto the chandelier itself.  Make the room sparkle!

We found the perfect magenta table runners to match her pink decor - so all that was left was centerpiece arrangements - which varied from limes/daisey arrangements, tall hot pink funky vases and hurricane glass with white candles in hot pink or lime green candle holders.

Pink Paper lanterns framed the edges of the dance floor to add color and warmth to the room.  Anglers was the perfect end to a perfect day - I will say though, if you are getting married in Niceville and having a reception on the beach - expect traffic delays on Saturdays in May!! It was crazy, 3 wrecks on the way but it all turned out perfect. 

All of these photos except a few are from k.p. photography and I say thank you sooo much for capturing this day in such a sweet and talented way! 

At the End of the Day - I thank the Lord for blessing my sister with such an Amazing man as a Husband.  This day was a day of celebration and joy for all of our family and his.  AND it surely cemented my LOVE for wedding planning and decorating - If you need help, Let me know because I love new challenges!

The last picture on the Beach summed up the day for me - Pure JOY! Congrats Colleen and Eric!

Details, Details, Details - Wedding Planner Blog, Cont.

Like I promised...I have continued to try and blog on preparing for my sister's Big Day - May 21, 2011.  Colleen's theme is fun, artistic and somewhat like a princess as seen in pictures before.  First task that I was to complete was decorations for the church.  Hobby Lobby has been my best friend - I literally spend hours there every time I go (scary I know)! They alternate every other week their glass items 50% off, So I could purchase all the glass vases I needed for much cheaper - GREAT DEALS - but for the church colleen wanted some pink color down the center aisle.  I saw a picture of aisle decorations that I liked so I sent this to her because we had purchased this size pink paper lanterns for the reception!

Colleen said no too informal for the church - sooooo back to the drawing board.  I did some more research and found some ideas with daisies in them and then called her

She loved it! So I immediately starting researching about how much it would cost to make - The "flower balls" as I like to call them are actually pomanders.  I researched online and very quickly discovered how to make them.  Instructions say to use a gream floral foam ball and then stick the daisies inside.  I decided on 5" balls (which are never on sale at Hobby Lobby) but are only 3.99 per ball. When I practiced I needed 27 flowers (2 1/4 bouquets) which were 50% off 7.98.  So I figured that 6 balls would be plenty and would fit our price range.  When I made the first ball with the green floral foam ball I didn't love that the green would occasionally show through - So I found the PERFECT alternative option, a 5" topiary ball for the same price!  So heres How I made them

Supplies:

5" Topiary ball

30 flowers of your choice - hot pink daisies was my choice

Lots of hot glue

Ribbon - depending on how far you want it to hang - I used approx 2 feet per ball

1. First de-stem all the flowers from their bunches - the tops of the flowers should come right off
2. Take your precut ribbon and thread through the top of the topiary ball - tie a not and then pull the thred back through, so the knot is on the inside of the ball - NOW you are ready to glue
3. Take the individual daisy and choose a spot near the base of the ribbon to glue to flower - you want to cover up the knot as much as possible - spread the hot glue in a circle around the base of the flower and press down in the spot for at least 30 seconds to get it holding tight.
4. Then progress around the ball - gluing the flowers about an 1 1/2 to 2 inches away from one another - You want to not see the much of the vine inbetween - but its okay if you see a little.
5. Keep gluing away - keeping up with the glue strings as you go, makes cleaning up easier later.

And here's the finished project! 1/2 lime green ribbon and 1/2 hot pink ribbon - They will add pop to the center aisle - we will be doing every other with the pomanders and then the other 1/2 with aisle candles

Inspired by my aisle daisy pomanders - I had an idea for the flower girls! In our church we are not allowed to use real flower petals on the carpet so I thought it would be SO cute If we made them larger daisy pomanders to hold and sprinked fake rose petals in a pattern on the floor.  This time I used a larger floral greenery ball - 7" and I had to use 3 bouquets (36 daisies) - I made the ribbon shorter and added bling.  With the floral greenery ball - you must have wire cutters to trim about 2in of the stem on with the daisies - It makes them stick into the ball better and doesn't require hot glue! I then glued rhinestones into the center of each flower- Here was the finished product for our sweet flower girls!

 

Wedding Planning 101: My Sister's Big Day + May 21, 2011

So I have recently (since Decemberish) been put to the task of planning my sisters wedding.  Seeing that at some times in my life I believe that probably should have been my career - I was quite over joyed at the idea of planning again.  One interesting fact for you that don't know my sister...is that we tend to be opposites but so far I have done well in the process.  I just have been spending so much hardwork and time on DIY details that I might blog my experience for anyone willing to listen.

Task 1: Theme

Lots of dreaming, thinking, drawing, creating and FUN!  Google world is great with photos of weddings - so saving images to the whole lap top is easy - Come up with a theme and stick to it - After only one minor hiccup on my sisters part of OH CHANGING the date from september to May and oh wait changing colors and theme - we finally are set on a theme that worked - heres some images below - Basically - lots of sparkle, Hot pink and Lime green - Romantic at the church (Niceville UMC) and fun/funky/festive at the reception location (Anglers Beachside Bar & Grill)

 

men look good in PINK daisies

Loving the limes- but hot pink daisies



Gift box idea - again pink and green



Lots of Bling is necessary

Wedding favor stickers

Colleens bouquet of Tulips, daisies, gerbers



No butterflies as Colleen quickly said -  we like the shape of this cake - and it will fit 200 cupcakes - we just want a cupcake wedding cake in HOT pink with rhinestone accents everywhere

Task 2:  BUDGET
BUDGET - excel was my savior - thank you to Troy University for the useless but now wonderful required computer course! We are working with a smaller budget so I want it to go AS FAR as possible to give my sister the day of her dreams - a mistake i learned from my wedding was to book a venue BEFORE thoroughly assessing your budget - FOOD costs A LOT of money AND THEN gratuity (usually 18-20%) and taxes not originally budgeted on a large bill might add a couple thousand to the overall price at the end.  Be prepared for this! Know how many people you want to invite and then budget per head - including the extras! This is a couple who are both from a small town having the event in a small town - so the invite list is larger! When making your budget also categorize what is important to you - less flowers, bigger dress...or maybe lots of flowers, simpler dress and a ton of food - just remember its your day and you can make it happen!

Task 3: BOOKING

So you have your budget in hand and you know your theme - FIND a venue that fits both you pocketbook and your style.  Once location is booked and times set you can start ordering invites ALSO Florists and Photographers tend to be a bigger priced option - So book those as well but know your budget...if there is something or someone you really love, don't forget you can move numbers around but not mountains!

When booking the photographer, see if there is someone you know, if you are getting married in a small town like Niceville - if you know the photographer it definitely makes it more personal! When I got married 2 years ago, Sarah Clauson did my photos, I had known her through my church for many years so it made  photo taking more fun/personal and less posey. My pictures turned out beautiful and just how I envisioned them! Colleen chose Kailyn from k.p. photography because she knew her and She enjoyed her style from the previous events she had photographed- she is a photographer who knows Niceville well and can capture it well. Colleen Already got her engagement pictures done with her and LOVES THEM (pictured below)

Book your cake designer - Give yourself a 30-40mile radius because some bakers are willing to drive.  Cakesbytanis.com did my wedding cake 2 years ago and she did a wonderful job, she did mine even though she is in Panama City, FL and my wedding was in Niceville AND drove it to my reception!  My sister is choosing a cupcake wedding cake design, so we are doing it DIY - more fun and PICTURES TO COME

Flowers may be super important to you and can be really pricey! Look around locally at recent weddings and who there florist was.  Your location might have preferred vendor lists that you can use.  Florists are great about helping you stay within your budget and still have your dream come true wedding.  For my wedding, I used Patty of http://perfectdayweddingflorist.com/ and my flowers looked amazing and she really worked with me - It was a wonderful experience! Colleen has decided to let me express my DIY itch - Thank you sister!! So I will be posting more trial runs in the future - If you aren't all bored from this post!

Don't forget the entertainment at your gig - Scout for local Talent if you want acoustic, local DJs if you want a hip to the hop reception or a local Jazz band if you want swing.  If you were a member of a sorority, you can contact your social chair with other possible music connections!

Task 4: Invites - we were set on the locations and times -so we used weddingpaperdivas.com for the invitations - For my wedding i made mine - which saved a lotta cash but not a whole bunch of time! For colleen we were able to budget to get the invitations she loved at a great price - we also decided to RSVP via their wedding website which saved on a bit of shipping cost - Colleen figured we could play into the whole lets go wireless theme - No invites on facebook quite yet - who knows whats to come!

Task 5: DIY  -  Decide what exactly DIY means to you.  As mentioned before I am a PA student in my second year of rotations so I study a ton- which at times makes me feel like I have no life and i am killing my artistic spirit - so i decided DIY to the extreme/ GO BIG or GO HOME.  I am creating the floral arrangements for her wedding, Crystal Curtains, doing the programs and creating the cupcake tower and cupcakes for the big day (yes 200 cupcakes baby - coming right at ya!). Oh yes and am the hired decorator for the reception and church venue.  Much more blogging will come as I "PRACTICE" the art of doing these activities.  It should prove interesting at the least - "I think I can" will be a motto i plan to stick to, or better yet - I know I can!  Since I am the bridesmaid - I chose to take this on - IF you are a bride and do not have a sister willing to do this for you - MIGHT not recommend it for your groom's own sanity. Just know what you are taking on and plan on needing good help!

I will stop writing this novel on Task 5 and keep you updated on how things are coming in the planning and creating stage - I was just bottling this all in and needing to creatively write/post about it to someone other than my husband (God Bless him for listening as much as he does and yes he doesn't care one bit about what flower would go better or going shopping with me at Hobby Lobby but YET he still goes to keep me happy :)

Peace & Love - Kaet