Posts Tagged ‘ themes ’

Inspiration Everywhere

June 13, 2012
Inspiration Everywhere

My re-introduction to the “modern” online-inspired wedding came several months before Todd and I got engaged. Hell, I hadn’t even decided that I wanted to get married again, yet! But I was looking for diy outdoor lighting options that wouldn’t break the bank when I search brought up the concept of LED throwies on a site called Weddingbee. I ended up not going the way of the throwies, but I did remember the ‘bee and would check back from time to time as I started to think more and more about the prospect of having another wedding, myself. It was a bit of an eye-opener, all the things that were popping up in wedding-world compared to what I knew of weddings in the pre-Internet planning era (aka the Dark Ages). And, of course, as soon as we’d talked it over and decided that marriage was back on the table, I started picking up all and sundry bridal magazines I could find. I also added a wedding folder to Google Reader and subscribed to some of the major wedding blogs around. Easily obsessed? A bit. But I think it’s okay to go through that you-mean-I-get-another-shot-at-this-party phase, especially when it’s not your first [...]

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Variations on a Theme: Wine Time

December 14, 2011
Collage of wine-themed images

So we’d tossed aside the 40s and 50s as era-inspiration and monkeys were dubbed a little too childish (well, for the wedding at least). In our earlier discussions we’d also talked about and nixed pretty darn quick the costume-heavy weddings of any of our geekier interests: Comics, RPGs or Star Trek. And while Mr. RT said he would be open to a Renaissance-style wedding (since I used to play in the SCA–Society for Creative Anachronism), I wasn’t as interested in that as I once might have been.Where was our theme?! Was there no single idea that would guide our decision-making process and steer us towards a color scheme while we’re at it? And then the answer arrived. Even have one of those ‘duh’ moments? In retrospect, this was one of them for us (or at least for me; T understood my need for a theme but wasn’t too worried about it himself). We’d already discussed doing a wine ceremony instead of a more traditional unity candle (blending yes, merging not so much, or something like that) and, obviously, food and wine were going to be major considerations as far as the reception was concerned–a wine-themed wedding was practically staring at [...]

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Variations on a Theme: Little Things

December 7, 2011
Collage of 1950s inspiration

Coming up with our first-dance song (something I didn’t have at either of my first 2 weddings and, therefore, something that was important to me to include this time) was actually pretty simple once I gave it some thought. Yes, I. It was a song Mr. Trips had shared with me when we were first emailing back and forth, a song I’d never heard before but the lyrics were very sweet and I tracked it down on iTunes shortly thereafter. It’s an old song (from the 50s) and one evening I mentioned it to T as a possibility for “our song” and he liked the idea well enough. One thing down! Woot! Song titles or lyrics are quite the treasure trove of theme possibilities and this song spoke about Little Things, those tiny gestures and courtesies we grant each other that mean more than possessions and trappings. Nice, huh? Well, mulling around the concept I could see centerpieces built of miniatures, a vintage feel and maybe dollhouse-sized items scattered about. Images via: So You’re Engayged (photo courtesy of Michael Bonfigli), HV Green , Dollhouse Collectibles, Amy Bayliss Taking a page from the era of the song the maids could be decked out [...]

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Variations on a Theme: Themeless

December 6, 2011
Moroccan-themed dining room with alcoves, windows and a wine glass.

I was a band geek. In high school I spent 4 years compromising other bits of my schedule, missing out some great classes with the rest of my fellow gifted students, just so that I could keep my band status current. One year it even meant enrolling in Jazz Band (and switching instruments for the semester) just so I could take a class that was only offered during one period that I had to have for my Senior Year externship. And if you were in band, you were in Marching Band. Our director, as the story goes, was not actually fond of marching band. But the principal loved it so perform we did. My freshman year our program consisted of 3 latin-style songs follow by, of all things, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” as our closer. The huh? Sophomore and Junior years continued just as theme-less and I repeatedly petitioned the director for a themed show–one that made sense for pete’s sake! Finally, my Senior Year, our songs all came from Aladdin. By then I was on the Flag Corps for the marching season and you could not have found a happier girl. Even when we (the flag corps) [...]

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