I figured the best way for me to re-join the hive after a few months hiatus would be to take on the Inspiration vs. Reality series. Perhaps a memory walk down the Honey wedding planning lane (woah, say that three times fast)...
Mr. Honey and I decided on a Colorado winter wedding, with our venue sitting on the very lake where Mr. Honey proposed. I had visions of a rustic yet whimsical affair, with hopes of fresh snow on our wedding day. After securing our venue, which allowed for our request of having our dog be allowed at the space, I nailed down our off beat color scheme of Navy, Gray and Peach. I jumped on the best wedding train yet, mismatched bridesmaids dresses, and put faith in all eight of my girls to find their best navy dress. My wedding dress was the second dress I ever tried on, and even though I had moments of second guessing, the final result was exactly as I envisioned. The outfits for my groom and his men fell into place rather easily and my decision for flower girl attire was even simpler. I dove into the DIY world and became the bride with a craft room so I could make yarn spheres, dessert plates, glitter jars, my garter, and even all our paper pieces. Wedding details came together as my mom and I designed our tablescapes, our best man & Mr. Honey contributed by collecting rocks to contribute to our rock guest book, my dad hand built our wedding arch and I created our mailbox that would double as our card box. I slowly collected all the pieces of my bridal attire from the cardigan to the jewelry. I realized my anemone dream would come true and Mr. Honey's dream of plentiful BBQ became a reality. In the final weeks before the wedding, we created our ceremony and before we knew it our friends and family where gathering to celebrate our love with us as the perfect Colorado snow storm blanketed our wedding day.
Whew! Thanks for following along as I reminisced and remembered just how much work goes into the day!
Of course I had a vision from day one, and to say it's gratifying to see the vision come together is an understatement. It's hard to narrow down your entire wedding down to a few key details, so I stuck with original ideas that I was able to bring to life, which also happened to be some of my most favorite details.
Honey Wedding Inspiration:
Allure 8806 via Allure Bridals / Puppy Dog by Luster Studios / Cardigan Bride by Shannon Nicole Smith Photography / Whimsical Arch via Elizabeth Anne Designs by Apertura Photo / Yarn Spheres via Oh My! Creative / Burlap Table Design via Style Me Pretty by Carrie Paterson / Navy Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses via Style Me Pretty by Watson Studios / Groomsmen via Ruffled by Katie Day Photography / Anemone Bouquet via Southern Living by Q Weddings / Flower Girls in Tutus via The Knot by Millie Hollowman Photography / Rock Guest Book via Polka Dot Bride by Ira Lipke Studios / Outside Winter Ceremony via Rockway Glen
So, how did we do?!
Honey Wedding Reality:
All Photos by Zak Fleming Photography.
Mrs. Honey becomes a bride in Allure 8806 / Zeus walks the aisle and rocks a tie / Mrs. Honey wanders in the snow, thankful for that cardigan! / Ceremony arch set up / Yarn spheres decorated the reception space / Burlap table runners showcasing our taplescapes / The Honey bridesmaids pose in their mismatched dresses and cowboy boots / Mr. Honey and his groomsmen look styl-ee in their suits / A close up of my grocery store bought Anemone bouquet / The three flower girls lovin' their tutu's! / Hand collected rocks for our guest book / Our snowy ceremony space
Mrs. Honey becomes a bride in Allure 8806 / Zeus walks the aisle and rocks a tie / Mrs. Honey wanders in the snow, thankful for that cardigan! / Ceremony arch set up / Yarn spheres decorated the reception space / Burlap table runners showcasing our taplescapes / The Honey bridesmaids pose in their mismatched dresses and cowboy boots / Mr. Honey and his groomsmen look styl-ee in their suits / A close up of my grocery store bought Anemone bouquet / The three flower girls lovin' their tutu's! / Hand collected rocks for our guest book / Our snowy ceremony space
I think we did pretty good! In our opinion, we had just the wedding we wanted: fun, casual, and affordable. Everything else was just details that helped contribute to the atmosphere we wanted to provide that day.
I love details as much as the next bride, but it's so easy to focus on the material 'things' that people will see at your wedding; these are the details that are natural to envision and put a picture with...but it's the non-material feeling you are left with after W-day that you can't put into a vision board- a husband/wife, a marriage. And I love that feeling :) With that being said, I could not have had my vision come together better without the use of the inspiration board!
Married Bees, how did your inspiration vs. reality turn out? Bees in planning, are you using inspiration boards to help guide your vision? Where have you found to be the best place to make inspiration boards?