In the beginning, I had told Mr. Bunting that he could choose what he and the groomsmen wanted to wear aside from a tux (unless he reaaaally wanted them). If they wanted to wear suit jackets, they could wear suit jackets. If they didn’t want to (and I was secretly hoping they wouldn’t), then they wouldn’t have to. Of course they didn’t want to wear jackets for an outdoor June wedding, so it was a win-win situation!

I stayed true to my decision of putting Mr. Bunting in charge for the groomsmen. I let him mull it over. He mulled it over a lot (or perhaps too little). I casually reminded him that we needed to start making decisions for their attire. He mulled it over some more. I began to wonder if he really was thinking about it, or if he even cared, so I started probing him more for ideas and answers. I thought maybe if I showed him some ideas, he’d find something he liked. So I started focusing my google and blog searches on groomsmen attire.

Haha, that’s when it all changed.

I found images that I fell in love with. I showed them to Mr. Bunting.

Let me pause for just a moment to give a warning. Ladies, don’t ever go out of your way to show your partner images of styles you don’t like or styles that just won’t work. There is a very high chance that your partner will take one look, point at that very image, and say, “I like that one!” And that’s exactly what Mr. Bunting did.

I didn’t show him any images that I didn’t like, but I did make the mistake of showing him an image that, while so very cool and awesome, simply did not mesh with the rest of our wedding. It was this one:

image via Ruffled / photo by Magic Memory Works Photography

And Mr. Bunting loved it. Le sigh. MOH Bunting and I had to explain to him that it just wouldn’t work with our color scheme or the rest of the wedding’s tone, so I tried to distract him with these:

image via Inspired By This / photo by Aaron Shintaku

image via Pretty Chicky / photo by Dana Grant

image via The Bride With A Blog / photo by Bloom Photography

image via Forage Bow Ties

So much for my vow to let Mr. Bunting pick the style! I was in love, and it was with bow ties and suspenders (and Mr. Bunting of course). Now before you judge, Mr. Bunting still had some opinions that I was more than happy to oblige, like no tan or khaki colors.

We had the guys purchase heather grey pants from Jos. A. Banks, and I found coordinating fabrics in colorful seersuckers and cottons for my seamstress to fashion the bow ties out of.  I love the mismatched bow tie look, so each groomsmen will have a different fabric.

We left it up to the guys to buy or find a white shirt and black dress shoes, and Mr. Bunting and I scoured the mall for the suspenders. Kohls had the best selection, and after an hour or so of Mother Bunting, the cashier, and I trying to figure out the best method to get the best deal with all our coupons, we left with 12 suspenders. Okay, okay, I couldn’t decide which style I liked best in the store, so we bought enough of two different types. After seeing them with the pants and a white shirt, this is the one we decided to keep:

Mother Bunting is amazing with coupons, so after the current Buy 1 Get 1 50% off deal and her coupon skills, we got these Dockers suspenders for about $11 each.

I’m not sure if Mr. Bunting loved the idea of suspenders and bow ties initially, but after actually seeing some of the things come together in person he’s completely on board. I know he wouldn’t agree to them if he didn’t like them at all, so again, it’s a win-win! Besides, Mr. Bunting’s outfit is different than the groomsmen and one he really loves, but that’s for another post.

What are you dressing the boys in? Did your partner have a strong opinion or preference, or did he go with the flow like Mr. Bunting ended up doing?

Looking back on my naive self, I can’t help but laugh. Not because I’ve changed my mind about monogrammed initials, but because I thought that’s all the wedding world had to offer when it came to cake toppers. Again, this is where I love the internet, especially Etsy, because it opens up a whole new world of opportunities. Granted, I still cringe at the majority of cake toppers (I’m picky about proportions and aesthetics, what can I say?), but there are some reeeeeeally great ones available! So many, in fact, that I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Let us explore the wonderful possibilities together. Shall we? Yes, we shall.

Love birds have been a popular choice lately, and with good reason. There are plenty of styles to choose from, too:

image via Etsy

image via Etsy

image via Etsy

image via Etsy

Want something a little more untraditional or unexpected but drool-worthy nonetheless? No problem! Check out these ideas:

image via Etsy

image via Etsy

And of course we can’t forget the ones that feature a bride and groom customized to look like, who else, your partner and you!

image via Etsy

image via Etsy

image via Etsy

Which one is your favorite, and what are your plans for your cake topper? Are you buying one or are you making it yourself? Share the topper love!

Simply put, creative and colorful ceremony spaces rock my world.

image via Green Wedding Shoes / photo by Ashley Rose Photography

Some of you may have seen this arch made by the bride using paper flowers and pinwheels. I would have loved to be there to see this.

image via Ruffled / photo by Katherine O’Brien

This bride’s brother made an entire wedding stage from upcycled fence boards for her wedding. Don’t you just want to dive into that photo and prance across the stage? I certainly do!

But don’t get me wrong, there are some very pretty altar spaces that take a more minimalistic approach. Even a simple banner or garland adds a delicately romantic touch to the space.

image via Ruffled / photo by Jamie Delaine

I just keep going back to the color, though!

image via Offbeat Bride / photo by xatomicbettiex

image via Style Me Pretty / design by Bash, Please / photo by Raya Carlisle

I’ve talked about my love for suspended things, so it’s no wonder that I love the colorful hanging tissue poms at the altar like in this last photo. We won’t be having tissue poms lining the aisle, but we will most definitely have them hanging from the trellis at our park. Now if only I could transplant a great tree to hang multiple window panes and buntings from…

The exception to altar decor is, of course, if your ceremony location is so amazingly beautiful it speaks for itself. Like this intimate wedding on the bluffs.

image via Once Wed / photo by Allyson Magda

If you can go cliff-diving or step into a waterfall from the altar, you probably don’t need to add anything else except for your gorgeous self. The same goes for locations with epic architecture.

image via Style Me Pretty / photo by Hudson Photography

Oh who am I kidding, every place could use some bunting! Yes, I may be biased.

image via Elizabeth Anne Designs / photo by Our Labor of Love

What are your plans for the altar space? Are you going for simple and delicate or bold and colorful?

Dessert tables make me drool, and not just because they’re filled with all kinds of sweets and treats.  They’ve been catching on a lot lately, and it’s perfect for those who want an alternative to the traditional wedding cake or just an additional dessert bar. They would also be amazing at a bridal shower or really any type of party. Pretty much you can come up with whatever reason you want, and I will be all over it.

Just check out some of these arrangements and you’ll understand why:

image via The Caketress / design by Lori Hutchinson / photo by Rebecca Wood

image via Wedding Chicks / design by Grandes Fetes / photo by Jessica Schilling Photography

image via Catch My Party

photo by Kelly Chau Photography

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

We’re going to be having a dessert table of our own at the park following our ceremony so that our guests can enjoy the park and a snack before heading to the reception. Because we have limited helpers and to keep things simple for us in the short amount of time it will be up, we’ll only be serving cookies and lemonade. Only. Shame on me. I shouldn’t say ‘only’, because it belittles it. Our dessert table may not have elaborate macaroon trees and cakes and lollipops, but it WILL have an old door, re-purposed china, and saltwater taffy! And cookies, of course.

image via The Sweetest Occasion / design by SHEPAPERIE + Design Boutique / photo by Jeanna Hayes

This has to be my favorite dessert bar I’ve come across, and it’s the main source of inspiration for my own table design. I just love how colorful and playful it is!

I’m in the process of creating a fabric garland, and I’ve already acquired two apothecary jars of similar structure. Here’s the mock-up my mom and I came up with:

personal photo

We didn’t have everything on hand, so we had to make substitutes, but it gives the general idea (the lone piece of fabric was to gauge how long to make each streamer and we only had cheap grocery store bouquets on hand for the flowers.) Er, yes, that is wax paper on the plates you see. We didn’t want to handwash all of the plates for our mock-up shoot – we ate the cookies afterward.

A friend of the family has an old door with chipping light blue paint that we’ll be setting on the table for a unique surface top. Now just imagine those jars filled with colorful saltwater taffy, and all of those plates heaping with an assortment of cookies!

Speaking of those plates and china, that same family friend collects china to make beautiful mosaics, and she generously donated some pieces in our colors for the table. To get a variation of heights, we bought some glass candleholders from the dollar store and used heavy-duty tacky putty to secure the candleholder to the base of the plate. Ta-da, instant mini dessert stand!

I think it’s going to look delicious in an outdoor park setting once it’s all filled out with cookies, flowers, and a fabric garland.

design by Modern Day Floral / photo by Lisa Kae Photography

Oh, and because it’s just too cute not to show: craspedia and hypercum will be in the two end bud vases, much like the one shown above.

Is anyone else having a dessert table? What details are you including in it? Do tell!

image via Elizabeth Anne Designs / Photo by Simply Jessie Photography

Early in my wedding planning, I started searching for sources to buy paper lanterns. This inadvertently led to me finding a plethora of  images from real weddings that had the same idea, which I started collecting gleefully. I’m so glad that I hadn’t settled on colors yet back then (and thus hadn’t made any paper lantern purchases) because I soon discovered bunting flags.

image via Oh Hello Friend / Photo by Christian Cruz Photography

And hanging flower balls.

image via Every Last Detail / photo by Ashley Bee Photography

And string lights.

image via Poppytalk / photo by Kamp Photography

And tissue poms and paper garlands and streamers, Oh my! They were all so colorful and fun and absolutely delightful! I must have them ALL!

Hive, I’ve come to realize I can’t realistically have them all (as much as I’d like to). In addition to very high ceilings, there are strict regulations about not hanging anything from the walls at our reception venue. So that ruled out having buntings at every single turn. (I know, right? Don’t they know who I am?!)  I’d love to add string lights to the reception, too, but unfortunately that’s not possible without having extension cords running all over the place – and consequently people tripping all over the place.

I’ve since made the smart decision of focusing on a few rather than the many: tissue poms with a few fabric and bunting garlands positioned in choice locations.

I knew I wanted to make the tissue poms myself since it’s quite a bit cheaper (and by golly I was convinced I could do it!). After scouring the internet for the best deal on bulk tissue paper, I found that nobody could beat the prices at PaperMart.com. I ordered four colors: light yellow, peach, aqua, and french vanilla. I’m not going to be using the french vanilla after all, so I’ll probably send that one back, but the other three colors were perfect for our color palette. See?

Wait a minute, Miss Bunting. What is that paper lantern doing in that photo? Well, now I’m beginning to consider adding some white paper lanterns back in to the mix but I’m just not sure if we need them or not. Oh, the decisions we brides have to make.

Have you ever had something that you loved, but couldn’t go over-the-top with because of budget or venue regulations? Did you end up going with it anyway? I persuaded myself to cut back because of both reasons, but now I can feel that “must-have” sensation creeping back up.

Let’s talk about hair!

I have been growing my hair out for the past year and a half (pretty much since I got engaged) because I figured long hair wouldn’t limit me to how I wanted to have it done on the wedding day. It’s much easier (and cheaper) to chop it off at a later date if you decide to wear your hair short than it is to have to get extensions for a long ‘do. Granted, the road has not been easy. I have gone through many awkward periods where I wanted to have it cut short because I absolutely hated it. Just ask my MOH Bunting, who always talked me out of it like a true friend. But I stuck with it, and now I’m glad I did!

My hair is straight, very fine, and usually very flat. Like Miss Sparkler, I can never get it to hold volume for very long. Unfortunately for me, I am not a professional (or even a very good amateur) hair stylist so a DIY do is completely out. Fortunately for me, I will be having a professional to take charge, and I’m convinced that with the right products, some hair curling, and a lot of hair spray, we’ll be able to get my fine hair at a voluminous level to be able to pull off this:

image by Troy Grover Photographers

image via Kelly Zhang

image by Percyhandmade

Helloooooooooooo perfect casual chic outdoor hairdo, my name is Miss Bunting and I want to be friends.

Who else is enduring bad hair days to get their dream wedding hair?