planning.

I talked to my artist friend Beth about what I wanted and she sent me a sketch, we discussed a few changes and she whipped this whimsical beauty out. 

Then my sister-in-law, Reachel, worked her magic to figure out how we could get a quality print from canvas to paper. 

I didn't even see the final product until they were already in the mail, but I couldn't have been happier!

Front/Back

Once I had decided that I wanted a whimsical/bohemian style wedding party, I began discussing ideas with my Maid of Honor/sister, Leisel. 

This was our inspiration board:

Thank you ebay and etsy!!! 
I got such beautiful colored depression-glass from those sites. 


My mom and sister also spend countless hours sifting through thrift stores looking for hidden treasures, they were freakin' saints!!!
And for filler plates we went to Target, TJ Maxx, Crate&Barrel, and Pier1. 

Once we had collected 180+ plates (60 place settings: Salad, Dinner, Dessert), borrowed gold flatware, and sewed 10 table clothes, we set up practice tables, figuring out how to best combine this eclectic array of china. 

It was more than stressful, and some tears may have been shed...

Once the plate combos were official, we label each set and packed them away for their journey to San Diego, and I began working on the place cards. 

The idea came to me out of the blue.
I love words. I (almost) alway carry a tiny, red, vintage pocket dictionary with me. 
I also love learning the history of names.
 So, I decided to combine those two loves and everyone was thrilled at the results, especially me.

Next, I had to figure out flowers.

The problem was, I wanted poppies, ranunculus, and billy balls and they weren't in season...thank heavens for the internet and express shipping! 
I got all the flowers for around $200, shipped from South America, I think, and they were BEAUTIFUL, seriously, I wish my house were constantly full of them!

I had my announcements, my tables, my flowers, but I still had 
no location and no dress...Both--sort of a big deal.

Well, my parents own a condo at the Lawrence Welk Resort, so they drove over one weekend to scope it out. 

They called me and said they had found the perfect place and it was FREE! 

I'm still not sure if we were allowed to do it there, but we did, and no one kicked us off :)

The weirdest part was that the location looked so much like the DreamedUpLand on my announcement--the pond, the weeping willow, the unicorn...?

Now all I needed was a dress...