Inspiration Station, heading toward Creation!

Ashley:

So I know I've said this before (and not all that long ago in fact...), but I just can't get over the joy I am feeling for this whole wedding planning process. Ever since we got the venue in order, things have been just sort of falling into place and I feel no stress in regards to anything (knock on wood!). What a refreshing feeling it is, especially after having multiple meltdowns during my practicum (the last 4 months of grad school). Adam and I knew from the get-go that we wanted our wedding to occur outdoors, either at a vineyard or in a field next to a barn. And once we found The Brass Heart Inn (its so perfect it nearly made me cry!), drawing inspiration from farm/barn weddings came easily. I am grateful to The Knot for having so much information (almost TOO much!) on their website, and to have come across a handful of awesome blogs has just been too cool:

http://thingsrbetterwithaparrott.typepad.com/homegrown_wedding/

http://www.apracticalwedding.com/

http://tenthousandonly.blogspot.com/

http://www.oncewed.com/

http://www.diybride.com/

http://ruffledblog.com/

http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/

Since the engagement (okay, and even before) I have perused through wedding magazines, seeking out inspiration and pictures to cut out and add to my "Scrapbook O' Ideas." Admittedly, I have found a good deal of striking images and clever ideas, but overall I would have to say all wedding magazines OTHER than Real Simple Weddings have been completely overwhelming and unrealistic. Why must most wedding mags insist on having an abundance of ridiculous wedding gowns that no one but runway models wear?? And flamboyant ideas that cost an arm and a leg to put into fruition??

The Real Simple Weddings mag has been my bible of sorts (many thanks to my MOH JacqAnn for picking it up for me just days after the engagment!), because it supplies pictures and real-life wedding stories, plus every check list you could ever want *aaaaand* a plethora of DIY (do it yourself) ideas. All in all, a totally "me" bride-to-be magazine!! All other magazines I have picked up over the past couple of months have mostly assisted me with realizing what I do NOT want out wedding to be like (e.g. fancy-shmancy soiree in the Museum of Science in Boston, or a black-tie gala in the garden of some gothic mansion)....with the exception of a few short articles and images regarding a barn wedding in Tennesee or upstate New York or something.

So yeah, I have Scrapbook O' Ideas---maybe when this whole wedding 'thang is done I will scan my pages into my computer and post 'em on this blog. In a nutshell, the pages of my scrapbook are cut-outs from magazines that encompass the theme, vibe, color scheme, etc that Adam and I are going for. I'm pretty thrilled to have gathered so much inspiration!! My head is *FULL* of ideas and inspiration, and I'm thrilled to announce that I've already taken action on some of the innovative ideas:

My friend Nikki (a fellow barn-bride!) gave me an old fashioned birdcage--the very one that she used at her wedding last September. I am psyched!! I had come across this image a while ago and thought to myself, "Self, I totally think an old fashioned birdcage would fit in nicely with our 'rustic elegance' theme." I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it....maybe something similar to the picture here? I dunno. So I saved it in my file folder o' inspiration and put "old fashioned birdcage" on my To-Find list. Well, look no more! A birdcage has fallen into my lap (as of yesterday!) and I'm stoked----THANK YOU, NIKKI! She had used it as a card holder for the gift table and I totally dig that idea---much more than my original idea of using a rustic basket. SO! A card holder of the rustic birdcage persuasion it is----yay! :o)

I bought 100 clothespins the other day! Nothin' says rustic like wooden clothespins on a jute rope, tied between two trees...or fence posts....or tacked to the side of the red barn....or what have you. ;o) Clothespins are so bleep'in CHEAP, so when I saw them while out running errands I couldn't resist getting them then and there (why wait?!). So the 100 clothespins are sittin' pretty in a basket, chillin' in the corner of my basement / office with the all rest of my wedding'y stuff and such...and I can't *wait* to start digging up pictures that we want to display on a clothesline at the barn!! Pictures of us with family and friends, of course-- just another way to thank everyone for being in our lives. :o)

That's a box of 42 glass bottles (plus 4 strays that don't fit)....and I actually have 50 more lined up to the left of the box! That's 96 little green glass bottles sitting on the floor of our basement!! I raided two Christmas Tree Shops (the one in Lynnfield, MA and the other in Portsmouth, NH) and basically bought out their green bottle collection (muah ha ha!!). How did I come across these & from where did the idea hatch? Well, I had gone shopping with a friend o' mine a few weeks ago and saw the little glass bottles (which are apparently meant to be used as diffusers??) and thought they would be PERFECT for my idea of using them as escort "cards" / favors. They're cheap, yet cute; they're green (one of our colors); people should want to take theirs home because glass bottles are awesome for home decor (in my opinion). Each bottle will house one single gerbera daisy and have a tag tied around the neck with ribbon (or jute rope, I can't decide which) that says their name and which table they're seated at. Ta-da! Escort card and wedding souvenir, all in one!

 Thank goodness for thrift stores. Without them, I would never be able to be accumulate all of this outstanding glassware! Mason jars, lil' medicine bottles, and antique bottles of various size, shape, and color. I LOVE THEM!!! I've got about 50 pieces thus far, but will definitely need to scrounge around for more since I want each centerpiece to consist of 5 or more bottles (all varying in size and color, duh). Simple. Rustic. Unique. And a great way to be livin' green----yay recycling!!! They say, "One man's trash in another man's treasure" and I couldn't agree more. I've always been of this mindset (thanks to my thrifty and uber-creative dad) and have no qualms with buying used goods. I celebrate it, in fact! *Huzzah!* I am so excited, too, to be inheriting some old medicine bottles of my dad's---bottles that used to be on display in our bathroom when I was a kid, and other bottles he has found at yard sales and thrift stores over the years. As you can see, I am a B I G fan of glassware, so having them play such an integral part of our aesthetic value means the world to me.

Rustic frames---check! I found a ton at Dollar Tree of all places and they're just great! Sure, some are plastic and painted in gold, but I dig how they have that antique'y look about 'em and think they'll look good intermingled with the wooden frames I have collected. In these frames I would like to put pictures of me & Adam during different points of our together'ness---one of our first day meeting in San Francisco back in 2005; one of us in Mexico; one of us apple picking. It'll be fun to display our love in photographic-form, framed in rustic / antique'y goodness!