"I see your true colors shining through....

ASHLEY:

Just the other day my dad sent me an e-mail. As I read the e-mail I couldn't help but smile and feel a wave of joy rush over me. I have always believed that colors speak volumes, and when a color is "attached" to a particular person you tend to think to yourself, "Yeah, that totally makes sense." I was pretty happy to read my dad's e-mail and see that this "a-ha" moment happened for him whilst reading information typed up by a paint company. The e-mail excerpt is pasted below:

"These descriptions are paraphrased from the Olympic Paint

advertisement:

Colors are inspired by your world. Color has no boundaries. No set rules. It's all about your own personal taste and inspirations.

Your choice of color sets the tone and begins the journey of creating a home (or event - {wedding}) that speaks to you and about you.

Color speaks to us in so many ways. It has the power to calm, energize, or even warm your soul. Color can transform a space and make a statement. . . your statement.

Color can influence our emotions and inspire our living space. Inspiration is all around you. Inspiration can come from so many different places. The world we live in. The objects that surround us. Everywhere we look, our world is filled with a palette of colors; from the warm, inviting shade of a room in candlelight, to the vivid tones of ripening fruit, to the cool colors of the seashore. Colors catch our eye. They spark ideas. They reflect moods. As you look at the colors of your world, choose those that help to create your own personal statement.

YELLOW: Sunshine and light. Yellow projects a radiant look, creating instant warmth.

ORANGE: Cheerful and lively. Midway between red and yellow, orang is dynamic and energetic.

GREEN: Calming and harmonious. Green says balance and beauty; drawing from the shades of nature.

I realize that this does sound like an ad, but I think that the colors you have chosen describe both of you, and your lifestyle perfectly! Just sayin'."

In a nut shell, the colors that Adam and I have chosen for the wedding are more than just happy hues of summer. They represent the kind of people we are; they inspire us day after day; they catch our attention and make us remember how lovely the world is; they scream "happy!!!!" and "fun!!!!" and "nature shades of nature!!!!" All the colors of the rainbow are beautiful, but I am especially thrilled to have orange, yellow and green---my three favorite colors---play such an integral part in our wedding day. They are just very "us." <3

Beautiful Bridesmaids and Save-the-Dates---oh my!

Wedding planning has been going well. :o) Just a few weekends ago Adam and I were sitting on the couch, perusing wedding blogs and websites, taking notes, searching for photographers, etc. Though both of us were on our laptops, I felt like we were making a lot of headway and so I turned to him and exclaimed, "Wedding planning is so much fun!!"

And I truly meant it. I feel like a very lucky bride-to-be, for a variety of reasons. We have a vision for our special wedding weekend, and though I'm not a religious in any way, shape or form, I do feel rather "blessed" to be able to plan our wedding the way we want. We have chill friends and family supporting us and our vision---no religious zealots who are disappointed with our lack of a church and ordained minister; no divorced-parents drama; no one telling me that orange is too loud of a hue for bridesmaids to wear; no one arguing our wanting to be barefoot for the ceremony. I hate to jinx it, but everything is smooth sailing right now and it's just SO nice to be able to really enjoy this engagement to the fullest and prepare for our marriage in our own way, with the support of those we care about.

There is still {SO} much to be done and decided on, but we're making progress so I'm not too worried. After all, we have a lot of the big stuff done: my dress was found and purchased just 8 days after getting engaged (I didn't waste any time, boy-howdy! dress shopping was the LAST thing I wanted to stress over), and we got a SWEET date and venue reserved.

About 3 weeks ago Adam designed our Save-the Date postcards and ordered them through www.postcards.com. I'm ***SO*** pleased with them!! Adam did a stellar job, and I think they represent our creativity well; they ooze with the essence of Team Fiends one might say. ;o)

We opted for postcards for our save-the-dates for a few reasons:

1) magnets were a cool option, but very pricey

2) saves paper since it's a card and envelope rolled up into one

3) postage stamps are only .28 cents!

I addressed 140+ postcards with an orange Sharpie, plus added a yellow daisy and short message to each one as well. Took a while, but I wanted to add that personal touch...and in all honestly, I didn't mind laboring over them because I was essentially giddy with the idea of sending them out the next day. We couldn't wait to hear feedback from our friends and family. :o)

Today I went with my Maid of Honor (Jackie) and bridesmaid (Alyssa) to David's Bridal to try on bridesmaid dresses.....and we had great success! The color of dresses is the *perfect* shade of orange---I couldn't have hoped for a better hue! And the style is cute and very flattering---my 4 bridesmaids are going to look lovely!!! The fabric is cotton sateen, and bonus feature: pockets! I kinda want to get one for myself..... Seriously.

Things on my mind as of late (now that bridesmaid dresses have been found, thank gawd):

* Music. I am *constantly* thinking of songs to add to the "indie playlist" we'd like to be played during the cocktail hour and dinner. We are not into the cliche wedding music and want the whole day to really represent who we truly are. As nice a musician as Michael Buble may be, neither Adam or I listen to Mr. Buble, so why would we play him at our wedding reception??

* Centerpieces. I have been raiding the local thrift store every other week or so and buying out their collection of old glass bottles. I have a good amount, but if I want *at least* 5 bottles of varying sizes on each table, I'm clearly going to have to continue my glass bottle hunt... And is it wrong of me to want to put stickers on the bottom of each bottle saying "DO NOT TAKE"??? Some of the glass bottles have been a part of my collection for years and I don't wish to part with them....and I don't think a "win the center piece" game is really something I care to have at our wedding anyway..... :o/

* Flowers. Why are they so damn expensive? And what should I do----have them taken care of by a small family-owned flower shop near Chocorua or buy them wholesale and do the bouquets myself?? I want small, simple bouquets of orange and yellow (and maybe some white) gerbera daisies. That's it. It couldn't be THAT hard to do 'em myself, could it??? I dunno....I'm a little scared and don't want to be walking down the aisle with half-dead daisies...! ;o)

Inspiration!

Ashley has been digging like crazy for wedding inspiration, but both of us have been apprehensive to start writing about any of our ideas or experiences since it seems like there is just too much to say.  Fortunately, Ash has been keeping a folder full of pictures she finds that we feel embody the essence of what we want our wedding to be.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so here they are... plus a few words for context.


Cubbies!

Flower hooks!

I just finished designing our "Save the date" postcard, and am looking forward to the challenge of designing our invitation... here's a little invitation inspiration that Ash found.

Ashley is positively obsessed with the idea of using these little chubblet birds as cake toppers.

This is exactly where we will be married in front of the Brass Heart Inn in Chocorua, NH!

Flower buckets!

Candles in mason jars hanging from string, these are a few of our favorite things...

Japanese lanterns!

Clothes pins & clothes lines... brilliant!

Unique table name/numbers and whatnot. We say yes!

Our feet shan't concern themselves with shoes.

Chalkboards are cool... Ash is also dying to use my vintage bicycle as some sort of prop.

Scott (Ashley's dad) may not know yet, but we expect he'll be playing a pivotal role in helping us make the coolest rustic signs you will ever set your eyes on.

We intend to employ 100,000 fireflies to light the inside of the barn.

Picture frames... we may set up a photo set and have frames like these as props.


Gerbera daisies will be everywhere.

Grass, trees and air.

Groomsmen unite! I think we'll all be wearing gray vests and pants... shoes optional, and all suit coats will be burned in the bonfire.

Guest participation is crucial to us, and in that vein we hope to do something creative with our guestbook to avoid getting 140 vacuous "congratulations." Spare us the congrats, we know how lucky we are.  How about drawing a cartoon of us, or writing a little poem, or just just leaving us one small piece of advice?

Hay bales.

Honey stirrers.

Hi.

My aunt makes the most amazing homemade jam... maybe I can convince her to make them as favors... then again she also makes wedding cakes.

Lanterns!

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Photos!

Harry Welch... ring bearer extraordinaire!

...that's it

for now...