for the love of carnations

Since I started this blog, I've dedicated a few posts to showing some love for the mostly unloved, unappreciated carnations.  They may not be flashy or exotic like some of their flower friends but carnations are pretty & affordable.  I used carnations for our wedding because I stuck to a very strict, tight flower budget.  It seems I'm not the only one as I'm seeing carnations used stylishly & beautifully in weddings more & more.  Keep an open mind & take a look!

Carnation heads strung on invisible wire make for a stunning pink ombre ceremony backdrop!  It would be just as pretty in any color, indoors or out:

Carnation pomadors hanging from lovely ribbons are the perfect touch for another outdoor ceremony.  The poms would be just as pretty decorating the aisle of a church:

Small & simple, this darling carnation centerpiece is well-sized for a cocktail table.  Just make it a little larger if you have bigger tables:

A creative, overflowing centerpiece of carnations in shades of peaches & pinks:

I saved the very, very best for last.  How much do you love this modern, purple ombre carnation centerpiece?

Budget-friendly Brides, you can see it's easy to make inexpensive carnations into great wedding looks.  Give carnations a chance!

Photo 1: Elyse Hall Photography via  /  Photo 2: Sylvie Gil Photography via  /  Photo 3 & 4: Katie Osgood Photography via  /  Photo 5: Stephanice Yonce Photography via

Rainbow Connection

Mere days ago, I mentioned if I was forced to name one thing I would change about our wedding, I would change the matching bridesmaid dresses (you can catch a glimpse of them HERE) to mismatched bridesmaid dresses.  I was thinking something along the lines of this or this, only in purple.  Guess what?

I spied this rainbow delight & I've already changed my mind:

Mismatched black dresses with matching shoes in rainbow hues!  Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.  Your bridesmaids could choose any black dress, chances are they already own one, & you could choose a cute shoe available in a rainbow of colors.  So simple, so stylish, so budget-friendly.

If this were my wedding, I would have let my bridesmaids choose any black dress & any purple shoe.  I bet the shades of purple & styles of shoes chosen would have made for a fun, original bridal party!

Clearly, if I have already changed my mind about this in the span of a few days, it's probably best that I went with a traditional, matching bridal party.  

Let's discuss!  Do you like matching or mismatched bridesmaids?  & what about this clever shoe idea?

Photo Picotte Weddings via

baby, baby

I've never had an opinion about baby's breath one way or the other until now. I see it popping up everywhere in the wedding world & I'm falling in love.  Baby's breath is so simple & sweet, just my style.

Here are a few examples of baby's breath in weddings that made me fall in love:

The bunting is darling but the baby's breath arrangements make the statement for this ceremony altar:

Baby's breath bridal bouquet that is seemingly heaven-sent:

Delicate baby's breath mixed with fragile stephanotis is bridesmaid bouquet perfection:

Escort cards nestled in a bed of fluffy baby's breath is quite genius:

Varied containers wrapped with ribbon & filled with baby's breath makes the ultimate simply pretty centerpieces:

Best of all, baby's breath is inexpensive.  Music to the ears of Brides on a tight budget! 

Are you seeing baby's breath everywhere too?  Hate, Love or Like?  I vote LOVE!

Photo 1 & 5 Yolande Marx via Photo 2 Jonathan Ong via Photo 3 via Photo 4 Braedon Photography via

simple blooms

I'll be honest: I didn't have a large flower/decor budget when I was planning our wedding.  My then-fiance & I chose to prioritize & spend the most on our venue/food, photography & music.  As such, the pennies were pretty tight in other areas.  I went really simple with the flowers.*

So it's truly warmed my heart to see more & more reception centerpieces that don't break the bank, yet look quite lovely.  I know it's frustrating when your limited budget doesn't fit your big dreams.  Oh, my dears, there is hope.  Let's admire some affordable, beautiful centerpieces & fuel that hope!

A grouping of cheerful yellow flowers in different vases make for sweet centerpieces:

 Mix lots of greenery with a pop of bright color in a mason jar for a nature-inspired feel:

The small detail of green glass elevates this simple, single bloom & few branches centerpiece:

A fresh-picked centerpiece is just darling in a cute container:

Cherry on top: most of these centerpieces could easily be DIY projects!  As always, I beg you to recruit buddies or hire a day-of wedding planner to transport & set-up the centerpieces should you go the DIY route.  You want to spend your wedding day enjoying every moment with your loved ones, not playing with flowers. 

Are/Were flowers & decor a priority for your wedding?  Do you have any inspiring, budget-friendly decorating tips to share?  

(* I feel like a broken record but I promise more photos of our wedding are coming soon!  There are a few HERE, THERE, EVERYWHERE & HERE TOO if you feel like scouring the entire blog.  I mean, I'm sure you have the free time.)

Photo 1 A & A Photography via Photo 2 via Photo 3 Kelli Hunt Photography via Photo 4 The Wedding Artists Collective via

Invitations: Calligraphy

Our Snow white envelopes with Taupe script font
Calligraphy done by Marsupial Invitations

Our wedding invitation envelope!

Let's face it: I love anything & everything stationery. This means I've been known to drool over an outer envelope addressed in gorgeous calligraphy. True story.

So it was a huge surprise that I didn't care about the addressing of our wedding invitation envelopes. I considered writing them myself since I have nice handwriting. However, I'm a bit of a perfectionist & I knew the pressure to write beautifully in a straight line would be too much. That idea was quickly scrapped. The next option was hiring a calligrapher & I happen to know Hoboken's best calligrapher, Diane of Inksong Calligraphy. But now that I see much in terms of budget, budget, budget, skipping calligraphy seemed like an easy way to save a few bucks. Not to mention, I was not taking the time to have our envelopes hand-canceled to ensure that gorgeous calligraphy wasn't ruined in the mail.

That's the long way of saying we opted to have our Snow white envelopes addressed by Marsupial Invitations. Many stationers offer computer calligraphy at a low cost. We filled out a template, sent the template with our order & our wedding invitations arrived with addressed envelopes. Pretty cool, right? We chose the same formal script & the same Taupe font color used on our wedding invitations. Everything coordinated perfectly without spending a fortune; we were pretty pleased.

The downside? You're on your own for changes & additions. For example, I discovered we had spelled one of our guest's names wrong. Also, one of our guests moved between the time we submitted the order & we received the order. I can't exactly send our envelopes back to California & have a few envelopes done. So I'm on my own for any extra envelopes we need addressed. Thankfully, we were smart enough to order plenty of extra envelopes (always, always order extra envelopes!!!). And, well, my nice handwriting comes in handy!