Thursday, December 19, 2013

Monica + Steven


It has been a long time since my last post, but don't worry, I am still here!  The lack of posting is not a bad thing, trust me!  From April until today it has been go, go, go!  Wedding season was a lot of work, but so worth it.  Wedding after wedding kept me on the road and I really enjoyed visiting new locations.  Now that the holidays have arrived, I am just coming back to reality and have time to finally post!  The horrible snow today inspired me to start back at the beginning, back during those warmer months?  Can you even remember?... yeah, me neither.

Today, I wanted to highlight one of my favorite weddings of the year.  Monica had a vision that basically displayed everything that I am.  No color scheme, no sparkle, just shabby chic, chipped paint beauty.  Since the bride to be lived on the other side of the country we were only able to meet in person a handful of times.  I remember her coming to me in the middle of January's coldest days with one picture to inspire the entire decor.  It was a gorgeous turquoise chipped metal chair, and from here the inspiration began.  I was so excited to work with her and to showcase our items which are shabby chic in every way. The final outcome was exactly what she had envisioned and I couldn't be happier to have helped make it possible.

I really enjoyed this wedding because we re-purposed items in all different ways to achieve the needs of the reception.  I wanted to show that with a little creativity you don't need lots of expensive pieces to make your wedding unique.  First we used windows as chalkboards.  From send off time to menus, we had information for the guests on every window.  Another concept was the use of our doors.  The wedding was held outside a barn, which caused for the ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, and reception to all merge into one big clump on the lawn.  We wanted to make sure that each area was kept separate so guests would know where they were headed.  Doors were placed at the entrance of the ceremony and the dinner to help achieve this goal.  Monica wanted it as if they were walking into a room, and I loved it because it kept things organized.  

Our lovely bathtub..... oh how I love this big heavy piece.  We used this for drinks.  During cocktail hour we had a bartender, but for those who wanted water or soda, we had these displayed in our tub.  This was especially nice because the bath tub was low enough that any little hands wanting a drink didn't have to wait for mom to get it.  By keeping this at the center of reception, guests could easily get to a drink at any time. 

Fire pits were placed out after dark so that guests could enjoy s'mores on the spot.  But, we kept a display out for those who just wanted to take home a pre-made s'mores kit.  My favorite part of this was the use of drawers.  We used empty drawers to hold the favors as well as the drawers of our buffet.  Finally, DIY photo booths were the must have of the summer season and this wedding was no exception.  We created a photo booth with props and backdrop.  Once guests had taken a picture with the Polaroid, they were able to drop off a little not with the image in an open suitcase for the bride and groom.  

Everything came together perfectly and I couldn't have asked for better weather: no wind, not too hot, etc.  Every item you see is property of Odds and Ends wether it be a cake stand or a couch.  I would like to mention really quickly that this wedding was a full decor package.  This just means that the bride rented our entire inventory along with wedding specific pieces we hunted down, and they had Odds and Ends staff at their disposal for the entire day to set up.  Some pieces such as our brown buffet and tub are not currently listed on our website.  To inquire about these specific items please inquire for a direct quote.  Odds and Ends is happy to provide full decoration for your big day, just contact us for a consultation.  -J


Vendors I had the pleasure of working with include: