Friday, June 8, 2012

Wedding Keepsake Box or Memory Box

Well, call me sentimental or just silly in love... I do not want to forget a thing about my wedding day. It was better than what we expected. You always expect a few major things to go wrong, but it was the opposite for us. It was such a great day, with amazing friends and loving family. I am such a lucky girl to have married the man of my dreams.


I had decided awhile back that I was going to try and collect as many things from our special day as possible. I made sure that I saved my wedding bouquet (you will see how it turned out in another post), bridesmaids bouquets (only because they forgot to take it with them), flowers from our chuppah, one centerpiece, and of course the groom's boutonniere! Now that was just what I saved for the flowers portion of it!


In the shadow box below I had included the following items:

  • My wedding tiara/headband
  • Groom's Boutonniere
  • One flower from our Chuppah
  • Groom's special Yamaka/ Kippah
  • Groom's handkerchief
  • Our wedding program
  • One Wedding Favor
  • Personalized I Spy card
  • The inside of our Yamaka's/Kippah's
  • Some decorative items from our wedding Day
I put a few stickers on the shadow box to make it decorative. On the top it says Wedding, with a flower to the right of it and wedding rings to the left of it.

On the bottom of the Shadow box, it says "to have and to hold."



Honeymoon Keepsake Box

Ok, I am doing this a little backwards. I haven't posted anything on my honeymoon just yet. I promise to post all of the details soon!


Last night I had decided to create our Honeymoon Box. Our Honeymoon destination was in Ireland and London. I made sure to bring back some typical and unique keepsake stuff.


I picked out a pretty rock in North and South Ireland, as well as in London. I wrote the name of the country on the Rock, and put it on display in the Shadow box.


I also pressed flowers from North and South Ireland, and again London. I then taped the pressed flower on a pretty doily (from our hotel) and put on display in the shadow box. 


I made sure we saved all of the travel tickets such as airplane, trains, bus tours, etc... Any attraction we went to, we saved the ticket. I saved our first class menu from the airline as well. I highly recommend  that you save as much as you can because it will look really nice in the display box. I even have some brochures from places that we visited.


We also bought these little keepsake bottles and filled it up with Sand from Ireland, and water from London and Ireland. You can put a pretty label on it.


I went to Michael's and purchased some travel and honeymoon sticks from Jolie. It is a great way to embellish the shadow box. Believe it or not, I actually got my Keepsake Box at Marshalls!


Check out the finished product!!! I went ahead and posted two photos of it, but they pretty much are identical angles! 








Sunday, June 3, 2012

Wedding Music: Ceremony, & Reception

Picking out music is easy for some people if they don't care much about it, or put a lot of thought into it. I am a traditional girl as I mentioned in a previous post, but I like to be a unique in my traditions. Because I am a singer, and I come from a singing family, it took me forever to pick out my songs. I am very picky, and for me it is all about the details. I think the only unique song we were able to think of was the song I walked down the aisle to and our first dance song. 


While guests arrived we had a guitarist playing instrumental music. He played right up until the ceremony, and during cocktail hour. From what I was told some of the kids were crying during cocktail hour, and he started to play rainbow connection, and it calmed them all down and made them smile!


I went back and forth on what song to use for me and my bridal party. I finally decided to go with Somewhere Over the Rainbow, by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.


Although this choice was not very unique, I was ok with it because the song I selected to walk down the aisle is unique. 


For the song that I walked down the aisle to I selected Marry You, by Bruno Mars. Bruno's version is definitely too fast to walk down the aisle, so when I discovered a cover artist who sang a slower version, I was thrilled! Allow me to introduce you to the talented Michael Schulte. This guy is amazing and very talented! His version is so beautiful!!!



Once again, I was stuck on a recessional song. I thought so much about my music selection by the time my selection was due, I was just picking random songs for some of my music and this was one of them. Although, I actually like this song, so it was fine, just not unique. We went with Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours by Stevie Wonder. Quite fitting eh?



For our Bridal Party Announcements, we selected the following songs:

For our Parents, Ushers, and Ring Bearer, we selected Children by Robert Miles. It was the instrumental version. Our DJ actually picked out this song. He found it to be intense for announcements.


For our Bridal Party which included our flower girls, we went with the LMFAO, Party Rock Anthem, but only up to the first 47 seconds. It was on a loop if needed. Such a great party song! It really got the crowd going.


For the Bride & Groom's entrance, we went with The Black Eyed Peas: I Gotta Feeling. I actually love the Black Eyed Peas, so I was very happy with this selection even though it was not unique. My husband is not a fan of this group, but agreed that this song would be fine for our intro. There were so many other songs that I had selected originally, but lyrically they did not make sense.


For our first dance as Husband and Wife, we went with "The Way I am", by Ingrid Michaelson. Initially, I was going to dance to "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles to honor my Late Brother. It was his favorite song with his former fiance, Christy. 

I decided to honor him by wearing his talit during the ceremony instead. We selected "The Way I am" because I would always hum this song around the house or in the car. Every time I would hum it, about 20 minutes later my husband started to hum it without even realizing it. So every time we heard it on the radio while driving, we would hum or sing it together. It was very fitting, and the lyrics were perfect for us!

The image below most likely will be a little larger than I normally would post an image, but I wanted you to be able to read the wording.






We decided to combine our Father/Daughter Dance and Mother/Son Dance together. Everything goes so fast at a wedding, and we felt this would be a time saver , and the Groom hates personal attention, so I wanted to spare him! We selected "Stand By Me" which was a perfect song for both the Father of the Bride, and Mother of the Groom. 


My Father and I dancing, and my Mother-in-law and Husband dancing in the background. 





For my Bouquet Toss I decided to go with "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. This obviously is a very fitting song for a Bouquet Toss, but it is also an inside joke between the Groom, one of the Groomsmen, and I. We will leave it at that. ;)



My Father is a great singer. He used to sing in various venues all over Florida. He also sang for the President of Costa Rica back in the 90's. My Father honored me by singing two of my favorite songs from him. He sang "It Had to Be You" by Harry Connick Jr. He also sang Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. He was such a hit, that people were asking him to sing more the entire night! I would not let him because I really wanted him to enjoy our wedding, and no work for our wedding. Thank you Dad! I love you!


It Had To Be You

Sweet Caroline

We selected Sugar Pie Honey Bunch for our Cake Cutting Ceremony.


Sugar Pie Honey Bunch by The Temptations

Every Jewish wedding always has to play the traditional Hava Nagila dance song. We were no different! Everyone got around in a circle and then made circles within circles and dance together. It was a lot of fun. I am thankful that no one grabbed a chair to start lifting us. I would have ran!!! This song is a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it for a wedding. It is great to play toward the end of the wedding as people tend to be less stiff after all that drinking and dancing!



We finished the night with Last Dance by the late great Donna Summers.



Of course we had a lot of other songs in between, although I can't say that my DJ played all of the songs I requested. He was an excellent MC, and a talented singer, but for some reason he repeated some of our songs from our ceremony and bridal party announcements.  Overall I was satisfied with his work, and loved his energy.

The first dance song of the evening was a request by me called Stuck in the Middle With You- Reservoir Dogs. I can't express what a hit that song was! Everyone was on the dance floor instantly!



I hope you have enjoyed my song selection and meaning behind the songs, and find this helpful with your decision process. Good luck!







Saturday, June 2, 2012

Wedding Attire

I tried on 5 dresses, but the very first dress I tried one was the one for me! I purchased this dress from David's Bridal, and it was one of their Spring Watch Dresses. I had inspired three other brides to purchase this dress at David's that the store manager asked if I could stand in the window and model the dress! I thought that was hilarious! The dress comes in ivory and white, but I decided to go with Ivory. It is made of Organza material, so it does not wrinkle easily. I thought I was going to have to have it steamed, but there was no need for it. 


Although I did purchase my veil their, I wish I wouldn't have. They were quite pushy about it, and I was so tired from trying on the dresses, that I caved in. It was a beautiful veil with a peal trim, but it was way overpriced, and I have seen nicer ones out there for a much cheaper price. 


Because I hate my arms, I decided to design a jacket to go with my dress. I used a local tailor in Stamford to create it for me, and she did such a great job. Message me if you need her info.


My Husband (the groom) rented a Calvin Klein Tuxedo from Men's Warehouse. We got a discount from David's Bridal's website. I highly recommend using their coupon. The groomsmen all had the same tuxedo, except they wore ties and my husband wore a bow-tie. The colors were Black, and a silvery/gray for the vest, tie, and handkerchief. 







My Bridesmaids dresses were also purchased from David's Bridal. Initially we picked something out from a small boutique, but they were charging extra fees and it started to become pricey, so we went back to David's Bridal and purchased them there. David's Bridal will give anyone in your Bridal party including Mom's if you purchase your wedding gown there. Their colors were an icy pink. 




My flower girls wore a cute pink dress to match our Bridesmaids.


My little nephew who was the Ring Bearer was wearing a matching suite like his Father who was one of our Ushers. It was a gray suit!






My Father had his own Tuxedo because he is a singing entertainer.


Our Mom's wore very similar dresses. My Mother purchased her dress from David's Bridal. This is not my mother, but this is the dress she purchased.


Mom-in-law's dress. 

My Father-in-law wore a gray suit.

Our Ushers wore Gray Suits.

My 90 year old Grandma wore a long black dress, and my Grandma-in-law wore a brown long dress. They both looked lovely!















Unique Wedding Accessories

Everyone wants to have a unique wedding. That is exactly what we did. It was unique, yet traditional. To me it was all about the details! Until the professional photos come in, this is what I have for now!


Our Guestbook were river rocks. We had our guest sign our rocks with well wishes. Some even drew pictures on them! We use permanent acrylic pens so the ink will rub off. 







Our Centerpieces were so beautiful and unique.I had tall vases wrapped in pink ribbon with a bouquet of Baby's Breath! They were stunning! Again, bear with me. I will update photos once I receive them from our Photographer!



My Sister made me such a beautiful aisle runner. We got the runner from Joanne's fabric, and ordered the decals online. In the middle of the runner, she put our monogram on it for us. So I never realized it, but our monogram actually spells SAD! She was so upset, and I thought it was hilarious. Always good to have some humor at a wedding! It basically started out by saying "Once in a lifetime, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale." SAD was in the middle of the runner lol, and then at the end it said "And they lived happily ever after." Come on! That is so cute and hilarious! She did a great job and I really appreciate it!




This is our adorable Cake Topper. It was custom made by such a lovely woman in the UK. I can't express my gratitude towards this artist. So many people were talking about this cake topper. She actually tailored the cake topper to look just like my dress! My husband's hair looks exactly like that! I am so impressed. You can find her at the following URL:



Our cake was done by a company in MT. Kisco, NY called The Pastry Corner. The owner is so sweet and very accommodating. She is also honest and very reliable! We not only got so many compliments on the appearance of our cake, but everyone was also raving about the taste of it! It was a white cake with this amazing raspberry mousse filling rolled in fondant icing! 

Check out the cake Artist sketch and then final product! You can find the Pastry Corner on facebook:





For our Cake Table, I ordered a set of two forks on Etsy.com. One of the forks said "I do" and the other one said "Me Too." It was also engraved with our names on the side. You can order them online here: 







For our Wedding Card Box we also had that custom made on Etsy. This woman is very talented, and quite reasonable! She was able to incorporate my vision! You can find her on Etsy here:




For my ring bearer aka my nephew, my sister made this beautiful sign that said "I have the rings." On the back of the sign, it says "Just Married." We had him flip it over at the end of the ceremony, and he walked out with us. 





And speaking of my adorable nephew... I had him hand my husband to be a note while he was walking down the aisle just before we got married. I will share it with you.... Please excuse my horrible handwriting! I ordered the tag on Etsy.com. Check out the seller: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ifiwerecards?ref=seller_info

On the front...
 On the back...

So the night before the wedding, I gave my Mother-in-law a personalized hankie, and my husband gave my Mom a personalized one as well. I ordered the embroidered handkerchief on Etsy.com, and personalized it myself. I highly recommend this vendor because she was quick, and professional, and her quality of work is great! http://www.etsy.com/shop/sophieli?ref=seller_info

I made this image large so you can read what we wrote on it. It might appear off centered on my blog.








On the bottom of my shoes, I ordered these cute blue rhinestones online that say I Do. This was my something blue... Now the funny part... On accident, I flip flopped the decals and it read Do I? I didn't even notice it until the day of the wedding when my photographer pointed it out! Haha!

I ordered them on Etsy.com from:



I ordered these adorable champagne charms online for the big day. And guess what? I ordered them from Etsy.com! http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftyaddictions?ref=seller_info



I also bought these personalized flutes on Etsy.com from 
They were perfect and affordable for us!

For my Bridesmaids gifts, I bought these personalized pocket mirrors on Etsy.com http://www.etsy.com/shop/HoneyBunnyPaperie?ref=seller_info


I purchased these cute ivory wedding floral dress gift bags for the mirrors on Etsy from 


I created a personalized note from each of my bridesmaids by using a template online through www.avery.com. You can find a lot of templates on there for various things. 



The rest of the gift and accessories were purchased in the mall. It is a makeup case that they can use when traveling.

For our Wedding Favors, we picked out Wine Bottle Tealights. They are adorable, and unique. I printed out labels from avery.com to stick on each one of them. 





 For the Groomsman, we gave them a Leatherman pocket knife, and a cigar. I am not sure why they were all excited about this gift. I find men to be the hardest to shop for! My husband picked these out.  


For our Ushers, we gave them a personalized zippo with a cigar. Both of them smoke, so this was the perfect gift!!


For our Cake/Knife set we purchased them online at. It was personalized on both the knife and cake server. It was a bit lighter than expected, but still legible! I purchase them from http://www.karenstreasures.com/



For my own accessories, I was in a panic! I forgot all about it, and was so lucky to find the perfect set at Macy's the week of my wedding!

I purchased my tiara on amazon.com. I did not need a really expensive one because I am only going to wear it for one day! I carefully selected the right height for me, and made sure it had some pearls on it. It was perfect for me!


I purchased this plate on Personalization Mall.com It has my entire wedding party, and it is a great keepsake!

I purchased these cute Flower Baskets from Michaels, and I also purchased some rhinestones to bling it up some!


So as I mentioned in a previous post, I designed my wedding programs from front to back. I decided to have them printed on a postcard on Snapfish.com I do not recommend them for weddings though. They kept on printing my order number over my name on the back of the postcard where I had written a Thank You note for our guests. After they screwed up my order the second time, I was desperate, and did not have time for them to send me out a 3rd correction. I had to make a quick decision, so I headed over to Staples, and purchased labels. I had to white out my name/order name on the back of 100 programs, wait for each one to dry, and place a label over each one. It was such a pain!!!!


So this is how it was supposed to look, but unfortunately the order number was written on it!

This is how they came out twice!!! The sad thing is I had taken this up to the Supervisor level, and they still could not get it right!

And here is my quick fix! I finished the last one in the car (I was not driving) on the way to the wedding venue to hand off to our Wedding Coordinator a few days before our wedding.




For my Toss Bouquet, I had written out a note for the Lady who caught it. Unfortunately, my florist forgot to attach the note to the toss bouquet.


I highly recommend using the Knot.com for your wedding website. It is very easy to use. I used it for my checklist, website, budget tracker, guest list, floor-plan, etc... It has great planning tools, and great advice overall! If you are not comfortable using their floor-plan, I am sure your wedding coordinator can provide you one.

From our Wedding Venue Director


From TheKnot.com


So we all know how long it takes to have our photos returned to us and our video! It can be a painful process! A friend of mine was telling me it took her a year for hers to come back! I decided to make these I Spy cards for all of the tables. I asked my guests to take photos of special moments, and provided them an email address to upload them to. 



I was so lucky to find such a great Hair and Makeup Artist! Her name is Allison Sammel, and you can find her on Facebook: 
























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