Category: Wedding

Wedding Planning: Special Wedding Day Must-haves!

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For my bridal shower my mom ordered me custom cake forks and toasting flutes on Etsy. I love little details like this and thought it was a special touch. I plan to take them out every year on our anniversary. We actually used the forks a few days after our wedding for our dating anniversary. Another special gift we received for our engagement was a cake knife and serving set. At first I didn’t think much of it, but later realized what a great gift it was. It was one of those special items I wanted to have for my wedding day and it was checked off my list almost immediately. I think any of this items are great gifts.

Our cake topper was rose gold to compliment the flowers and bridesmaids details. It was inexpensive and I thought it was so pretty. It was made from a light weight wood. You could still see the wood texture through the paint.

Instead of a guest book I opted for a guestboard and I LOVE it. Although I’m not sure all of our guests signed it think it’s going to be really special piece of decor hanging in our kitchen. I haven’t actually hung many things on my walls, but once I get our wedding photos I will get to it.

For my wedding day/night I used a solid navy Very Bradley Grand Traveler. I got it at an outlet for a really good price with a matching cosmetic bag and curling iron case. Although I don’t use Vera bags every day I love the cosmetic bags and accessories. I used the Vera cosmetic bag for my overnight products and the white ‘bride’ bag from A.C.Moore for my day-of emergency items.

xo Miss Alyss

Our Bridal Party: Attire & Bridal Party Gifts!

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My wedding dreams were made of burgundy and navy. With the few photos that our photographer has released, I know all of my Pinterest dreams came true. The colors looked amazing on our wedding day. I am so happy with how everything came together!

When picking our bridal party’s attire, I was very mindful of cost.  For my bridesmaids, I wanted beautiful, yet affordable dresses that all of my girls would feel comfortable in. Two of my bridesmaids were pregnant for our wedding, so I wanted to make sure they loved the fit of the dress too. My bridesmaids wore dressed by Bill Levkoff from his #Levkoff line in the color ‘wine’ with nude shoes of their choice. The waist line and shape of this dress was so flattering. I thought all of my ‘maids looked beautiful!

For jewelry, the girls wore rose gold, including the beautiful tear drop earrings I purchased for them on Etsy. As gifts, I also bought them a rose gold Michael Kors makeup bag {similar here}, floral monogram robes and hangers. I saved money making the hangers myself. I bought wood hangers at HomeGoods and name decals from Etsy. I also purchased monogram robes for myself in white and my mom in navy {to match her dress}. My mom wore the most beautiful navy dress from Bloomingdales. I thought she looked stunning! From the second she tried it on, I knew it was the dress for her!

My flower girl wore an ivory and champagne dress from Etsy to compliment my dress. It was affordable and shipped quickly. For gifts, I got her a keepsake hanky to save for her wedding day, a hanger, a matching monogram robe, a pearl hair clip and a flower girl t-shirt for her to change into after the reception.

My groom and his groomsmen wore navy Alfani Suits – these suits were an awesome purchase! I always knew I didn’t want the guys to wear a tux and I’ll never understand why anyone rents suits. Both suit and tux rentals are costly and oftentimes more expensive than buying a suit. All of the guys in the wedding bought the suits online during a really good Macy’s sale. They purchased both the pants and jacket for about $150. All of them had great things to say about the suit itself and everyone at the wedding agreed they looked super sharp! The father of the groom wore a matching suit in class fit and my dad wore a medium grey suit from Joseph A. Bank {similar here}. We asked all of the guys to wear medium brown shoes and belts {Mike’s are linked}. As gifts we bought them white dress shirts, socks and ties.

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My groom enjoys local craft breweries, so we stuck with a craft beer them  for the rest of the groomsmen gifts. We got them bottle openers from Greenport Brewery, Montauk Brewery Long Sleeve Tees {another groom favorite} and a beer glass from Great South Bay Brewery. The best man is a coffee lover, so we gave him a  Nespresso machine. We love ours, so we thought he would love one too!

Professional Photos by Capture the Moment Studios

My Bachelorette Party!

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Honestly, I am not a huge fan of traditional bachelorette parties. I feel that these parties can be a burden on the bridesmaids and just a little silly. My MOH knew my feelings towards bachelorette parties for years, but she really wanted me to have “my day” where everyone was there to celebrate me as the bride-to-be. When I think about it that way, it’s a really sweet idea!

I told my MOH to keep my party classy, low key and simple. Admittedly, I am a bit of a homebody, but I wanted to do something out of the ordinary for my party. I had taken a cooking class with my mom years ago at Sur la Table and later learned that you can book a private cooking class. It’s not a secret that I like to cook {hello blog attempt #3!} so I knew this would be a good idea for my bachelorette party and that is just what my girls planned for me.

After getting together for lunch, I met the girls for pre-class drinks and then it was off to Sur la Table. I was greeted by a bunch of my favorite ladies (my mom, aunts, cousins & bridesmaids). Sur la Table setup a long table for us to eat at once our three course meal was ready. The best part was that it was all gluten-free! It included shrimp, steak, salad and green beans with a butter pudding for dessert. All of the ingredients are pre-measured and neatly laid out for your group, but you still get to prep, chop and cook the ingredients. We all loved our dinner, but the dessert wasn’t our favorite.

We were split up into small groups of 3 or 4 around the kitchen. Each group prepared the same foods and the instructor lead us through each step. I proudly sported a bride-to-be sash and there was no shortage of bride-themed props. We were also allowed to bring in your own alcohol, so there was plenty of champagne and prosecco to go around. At the end of the class the instructor provides everyone with the recipes to take home.

If you are unsure of bachelorette party ideas, I encourage you to think outside of the box and find something you would enjoy doing with your favorite ‘maids. I absolutely loved this class, and we all had so much fun. I recommend taking a class at Sur la Table and personally look forward to doing it again. My family and friends want to make it a yearly tradition  because it was such a good time. This class was the perfect party for me!

xo Miss Alyss