Centerpieces, Flowers, Etc.

During my week home, I had the opportunity to hang out with the florist (my mom's long time friend, Niki) and work on ideas for flowers and centerpieces. Here's the skinny...


There will be three different types of centerpieces. One centerpiece will involve three antique tea cups, planted with african violets and a vase of white flowers between them. The second centerpiece will have a stack of three antique books topped with a small, clear bottle holding white flowers. The third centerpiece will be a mix of different antiques (old milk jugs, a lantern, crackers tins, etc) accompanied by a vase of flowers. Each table will also have 3 votive candles. Some tables will have maps laid under the books, vases, tea cups, etc. to go along with our adventure theme. 

Here you can see some of the tea cups, a stack of old books, and
a tiny vase atop them. Also, our florist (Niki) is in the background.  

As for flowers, we have a variety of white flowers and leafy green plants (to pull in the green colors of our "blue and green" theme) and maybe even some succulents! Each bridesmaid will carry a different white flower (white roses, white hydrangeas, amaryllis, carnations, and I can't remember the rest), and my bouquet will be a big combination of all their flowers. 


Niki was so helpful while I was explaining my ideas ... she knows her flowers well and came up with some great arrangement ideas. And she also has a great artistic eye for things such as centerpieces. We even put together some more ideas concerning the seating cards, tack-the-map piece, and gift table. 


Also, a recent addition to our reception decor: my parents booked a rental of 150 silver chiavari chairs (because the chairs at the Radisson are red & gold and no bueno) AND uplighting for the room. We'll also be renting navy blue napkins to bring in the blue of our "green & blue" color scheme. 


If you've never seen chiavari chairs before, they're all the rage in the wedding scene. Especially when the reception hall you're renting out only supply VERY outdated and heinous-looking chairs. Here are some pictures of the chiavari chairs and uplighting. 

Silver chiavari chairs

Uplighting! Ours will probably be a mix of blues and greens.

Photo Dump

Our theme is vintage adventure. We were originally inspired by the movie Up! (which is where John's proposal idea came from). From there, we decided that maps and other fun adventurey things would be incorporated into the theme/decor. Somehow, vintage keys got involved (think "unlocking" the adventure) and also tea cups, tea pots, and old books. I don't know if they all go together yet, but just think old trinkets and I think they'll some how work out. 

So now, I'm just going to dump a bunch of photos on you guys to give you an idea of some wedding details (stolen from other weddings) that give us inspiration for our theme and feel of the day. 

It all started here, with some vintagey Up! inspirations. 

How can you have Up! without the grape soda bottle caps? They sell these on etsy.com.

I love the colors here, and the adorable clutches that each girl is holding.

Beautiful green & white flowers

Close up of green & white flowers. Also, the green of the dress is one of our colors.

Another flower shot

This is a different type of bouquet, still incorporating the green & white.

I love the green bottles here. We probably won't end up using them at our wedding, but I love the colors anyway.

The candles lining the head table are so much fun. And I love the idea of turning the b-maids' bouquets into vases of flowers. They quickly become a decoration at the reception and stay hydrated at the same time! How practical!!

Not in our colors, but still... I love the look of vintage books. And think about it - novels are totally ADVENTURES! Perfect for the theme :) 

Not sure what our save-the-date or invites will look like yet, but I love the map and color scheme here.

I am SO in love with this cake. I love how simple it is, yet it still has some sass & fun with the different textures. I think it would look amazing with this cake-topper...

I originally fell in love with this when I found it on etsy. Since then, Kate Niemer (co-worker and dress shopping buddy extraordinaire) has volunteered to make it for us! I think it has a trinket-y, old fashioned feel to it.

We really want skeleton keys to be a part of our big day in a big way. Just love the look of 'em.

Skeleton key escort cards on a door? Yep. Consider it done. And how vintagey, right?! We found these wooden skeleton keys on etsy.com to help make this happen...

Don't you love these save-the-dates?! They're a little out of our price range, but I figured I'd include a pic as another visual for the escort card idea.

I just love succulents. Not sure if we'll be able to incorporate much of them, but love them just the same.

My mom is getting old tea cups and tea pots to pot flowers in. They'll be used as part of the centerpieces on the tables. Again, think trinkets.  

Here's another ADORABLE idea. Instead of a guestbook, have guests put their thumbprints (in our colors) on this precious tree, then sign underneath. Voila! Instant piece of artwork for future home. And if we had an older looking frame, it'd totally fit in with the theme.

Another idea is to have guests put a thumbtack in a vintage map to signify where they came from or where their "adventure" began. We could use this as the guest book, then when the wedding is over, we can hang it in our house and have guests continue to put thumb tacks in it for years to come!