Wedding Part 5: Details

Last wedding post, finally! I couldn't fit all of the decor photos into the reception post, so this one is all the details. This might be the post I was most excited about seeing as this is where a lot of the work came in over the past year and a half. I'm so excited to share some of the little details including the centerpieces, table names, desserts, and signage. I'm so proud of how everything came together - it was all colorful, fun, and full of pop culture touches. So many people told us that it was the most "us" wedding they could have imagined. There was a lot of DIY, and it was all fairly simple. Neither of us wanted anything too over the top, and I think what we ended up with was perfect.

Centerpieces

If there was one thing that stressed me out the most during planning, it was the decor. I felt very overwhelmed by the possibilities, and everything was just so expensive. We finally decided to just do fake flowers, and I put together (along with some of my bridesmaids' help) these colorful bouquets along with some garland and candles (half of which were borrowed from my brother's wedding). But we all know the real star of the show was the table cards.

I actually think the first decision we ever made (probably before we were even engaged) was that we wanted the tables to be named after TV shows we've watched together. TV and pop culture is a big part of our relationship, so we add little touches throughout the wedding. Around this time last year, my friend Holly of Holly Oddly was sharing some amazing character portraits from TV shows and movies that I couldn't get enough of. Holly and I have bonded over the years through the Internet about our having the same taste in pop culture (to an almost eery effect), so when I was trying to figure out what the table names would look like, it all kind of clicked together when I saw her character portraits. It wasn't something she was doing custom, but I reached out to her to see if she would be willing to do some commissions of specific characters, and she was happy to take the job! Working with Holly just reconfirmed my love for her because she was so easy to work with and got us all of these so quickly. She also created one of me and Jon as a surprise gift! It was so, so sweet and we used it on our sweetheart table.

I added the show title above each portrait in Photoshop and then my sister-in-law, Elyse, helped me print them out on card stock. We printed out two of each (since we didn't have double-sided as an option) and then my other sister-in-law, Ashley, and my nieces and nephews helped me tape them all together. They were such a hit! I'm so grateful for all of the help I had throughout the entire process. P.S. I included most of them here, but we had a few others as well like The Sopranos and The Wire.

Desserts

Our desserts were by the amazing Kimberly of Kimberly's Kupcakes, who we were set up with through the venue. Like all of our vendors, Kimberly could not have been sweeter and easier to work with. She had such a great selection of desserts, so we decided to do a small cake and then have a bunch of other desserts. We had cookies, cake pops, brownies, and mini cheesecakes, and they all went SO fast because they were so good. I really liked a lot of the watercolor effect cake designs I had seen on Pinterest, so I sent Kimberly some pics of inspiration. She was so sweet to email me the night before and ask if I'd be okay with her adding some florals free of charge because she just thought it would look cute. The design she put together came out AMAZING. I can't get over how she managed to nail exactly what was in my head.

The cake topper was also one of my favorite details. At one point last year, my friend Jen did a giveaway on Instagram for a free custom clay figurine from Little Clay Land, and I managed to win! We were so lucky, and it was great to get to work with Laura. Jon and I could not get over how adorable it came out! We definitely will be keeping this forever. 

Signage

One thing no one really tells you about when you plan a wedding is signage. I knew I wanted to have a welcome sign since our venue was in the middle of a downtown area, and I figured a table chart sign would be the easiest as well. I spent so long looking at options on Etsy, but ultimately, the style I liked was simple with bold photography, so I figured I could just make it myself. I ended up making the welcome sign, table chart sign, dessert menu sign, and guest book sign (side note: we don't have any pictures of our guest book table, but it was adorable!). We then got the big ones printed through Vistaprint and Elyse helped me print the smaller ones. I'm happy with how they came out! Plus, you know I had to throw some Parks and Rec in there.