Pearl888
03-10-2005, 09:34 PM
After many hours finally finished the 'prototype' for our vow renewal ceremony invitations. [Dh and I married almost 5 years ago. Our day was very sad as my mother was diagnosed with a terminal cancer a week before and died shortly after our wedding. In order to create some new good memories of our wedding, we decided to renew our vows at home, on a different date ;) )
Since our wedding invitations were very formal, it has been fun designing the this ceremony's invitations because we could break with a lot of traditions. I purchased some very nice creamy ivory card stock with a pebbled finish. On the top front of the invitation I placed an embellishment of a tiny ceramic calla lily wrapped in a light pink satin ribbon. Underneath in French Script font I wrote: "Because you have shared in their lives/by your friendship and love" in stem green colored font. Then the next lines were, "the pleasure of your company is requested by"... in a rose colored font.
I am so happy with the results of my efforts! I am trying to keep the expenses down as much as possible, first obviously because dh already had the large wedding, and also because I don't want to make it seem like we are getting 'married' again, but indeed renewing our vows and commitment to one another. At our wedding I scarcely remember saying my vows, my mind was totally on my mother. Of course, I am grateful that she made it to the wedding, but in reality the day was not for me, the bride. Not that we wouldn't have gotten married then anyway, but my mother's doctor told us not to wait, because she wouldn't make it if we did. So despite the fact that it was a very sad event, we went through with it until waiting for a less sad time.
Our guest list is much smaller too, more like the list we originally wanted in the first place :p We are having the ceremony and reception party in our new home, which we moved into just a few months ago. We now have a formal living room that will be perfect for the ceremony, plus the fact that the staircase takes you right into the living room so that I can make an 'entrance'.
I purchased a jaquard light pink banquet size tablecloth for $10 that I'm going to make into an aise runner, since I didn't have one for our actual wedding, and I missed having one and making that entrance. I also purchased a 'twig' wreath that I covered with all sorts of silk flowers in shades of pinks, yellows, and creams for the front door. I was never all that 'crafty' but I have to say I think it ***e out very well, very "summery". I also would like to purchase a length of ivory tulle and create some kind of swag for the front door.
Since we have a long staircase, I purchased some nice ivy garlands that I am going to wire to the bannister and intersperse with silk flowers. I also bought three large silk rose 'plants' that we are going to put on the "altar" (console table with white tablecloth over it).
I am in the process of asking dh to make some sort of garden arch that I can decorate with tulle for the ceremony spot. I also purchased a bunch of very small candles to light on the mantle. Easter decorations at the local craft store are 50% off so I purchased 6 boxes of "Easter" lights that do not look like Easter at all, but more like fairy lights. They are beautiful and I plan to weave them around a faux ficus tree as one of the decorations, and use some for the cake table and yet some more for the the ceremony spot.
For refreshments we plan on having a cassada wedding cake, champagne and coffee and punch.
I have no idea yet what on earth I am going to wear. I'm looking into getting a suit or dress (simple, in no way looking like a wedding dress) but since I don't like anything out there that is going to be quite a challenge.
We are having a minister do the ceremony, a friend of my dh's, so this will have special meaning for him. We got married in the Catholic church, but actually this one will probably be more 'religious'.
We are going to go to Costo to pick up fresh roses the morning of the ceremony to scatter throughout the ceremony spot. The only flowers from the florist that I insist on are the boutiniere (sp?) for dh and my bouquet, a round bouquet of cally lilys.
I am making a program, but only for a remembrance for us, not to distribute. We are not having a ring ceremony, but I'd like to have our rings engraved with the new date in it and perhaps some whimsy attached to it.
Our ds, who is 3, is in the stage where he doesn't like a lot of attention drawn to himself, so I don't really plan to have him involved all that much. I'm still thinking of subtle ways to include him that he doesn't have to 'perform'!
The reactions that I've gotten from relatives and friends at our ideas have been mixed. Some say, "that's nice" but you can tell they don't mean it. That is, I think they think we are going to have a full blown 'white wedding' that will be a bit forced. But I think when they see how I've orchestrated it that it is not a reenactment of the wedding, but more like an anniversary party, they will change their minds.
I'm still planning music, I'd really love to walk down the staircase to the bridal march but I'm thinking that really isn't appropriate in my case. So I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do about that, only that when I do finally pick the songs we are going to make CD favors with our songs on there, plus a few more that mean a lot to us.
A friend of dh's does wedding photography, and we've asked them if they could help us out with this (our original wedding photographer really didn't do that good of a job, he was inexpensive but with the strain of the circumstances and everything, the pictures turned out lousy!) We're not sure if they are going to be able to yet, since they might have a more lucrative wedding to film (I don't blame them one bit). I'm hoping my brother can **** it for us on our ***corder. Well, that's about all for now, I'll post as more developments come up!!
Since our wedding invitations were very formal, it has been fun designing the this ceremony's invitations because we could break with a lot of traditions. I purchased some very nice creamy ivory card stock with a pebbled finish. On the top front of the invitation I placed an embellishment of a tiny ceramic calla lily wrapped in a light pink satin ribbon. Underneath in French Script font I wrote: "Because you have shared in their lives/by your friendship and love" in stem green colored font. Then the next lines were, "the pleasure of your company is requested by"... in a rose colored font.
I am so happy with the results of my efforts! I am trying to keep the expenses down as much as possible, first obviously because dh already had the large wedding, and also because I don't want to make it seem like we are getting 'married' again, but indeed renewing our vows and commitment to one another. At our wedding I scarcely remember saying my vows, my mind was totally on my mother. Of course, I am grateful that she made it to the wedding, but in reality the day was not for me, the bride. Not that we wouldn't have gotten married then anyway, but my mother's doctor told us not to wait, because she wouldn't make it if we did. So despite the fact that it was a very sad event, we went through with it until waiting for a less sad time.
Our guest list is much smaller too, more like the list we originally wanted in the first place :p We are having the ceremony and reception party in our new home, which we moved into just a few months ago. We now have a formal living room that will be perfect for the ceremony, plus the fact that the staircase takes you right into the living room so that I can make an 'entrance'.
I purchased a jaquard light pink banquet size tablecloth for $10 that I'm going to make into an aise runner, since I didn't have one for our actual wedding, and I missed having one and making that entrance. I also purchased a 'twig' wreath that I covered with all sorts of silk flowers in shades of pinks, yellows, and creams for the front door. I was never all that 'crafty' but I have to say I think it ***e out very well, very "summery". I also would like to purchase a length of ivory tulle and create some kind of swag for the front door.
Since we have a long staircase, I purchased some nice ivy garlands that I am going to wire to the bannister and intersperse with silk flowers. I also bought three large silk rose 'plants' that we are going to put on the "altar" (console table with white tablecloth over it).
I am in the process of asking dh to make some sort of garden arch that I can decorate with tulle for the ceremony spot. I also purchased a bunch of very small candles to light on the mantle. Easter decorations at the local craft store are 50% off so I purchased 6 boxes of "Easter" lights that do not look like Easter at all, but more like fairy lights. They are beautiful and I plan to weave them around a faux ficus tree as one of the decorations, and use some for the cake table and yet some more for the the ceremony spot.
For refreshments we plan on having a cassada wedding cake, champagne and coffee and punch.
I have no idea yet what on earth I am going to wear. I'm looking into getting a suit or dress (simple, in no way looking like a wedding dress) but since I don't like anything out there that is going to be quite a challenge.
We are having a minister do the ceremony, a friend of my dh's, so this will have special meaning for him. We got married in the Catholic church, but actually this one will probably be more 'religious'.
We are going to go to Costo to pick up fresh roses the morning of the ceremony to scatter throughout the ceremony spot. The only flowers from the florist that I insist on are the boutiniere (sp?) for dh and my bouquet, a round bouquet of cally lilys.
I am making a program, but only for a remembrance for us, not to distribute. We are not having a ring ceremony, but I'd like to have our rings engraved with the new date in it and perhaps some whimsy attached to it.
Our ds, who is 3, is in the stage where he doesn't like a lot of attention drawn to himself, so I don't really plan to have him involved all that much. I'm still thinking of subtle ways to include him that he doesn't have to 'perform'!
The reactions that I've gotten from relatives and friends at our ideas have been mixed. Some say, "that's nice" but you can tell they don't mean it. That is, I think they think we are going to have a full blown 'white wedding' that will be a bit forced. But I think when they see how I've orchestrated it that it is not a reenactment of the wedding, but more like an anniversary party, they will change their minds.
I'm still planning music, I'd really love to walk down the staircase to the bridal march but I'm thinking that really isn't appropriate in my case. So I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do about that, only that when I do finally pick the songs we are going to make CD favors with our songs on there, plus a few more that mean a lot to us.
A friend of dh's does wedding photography, and we've asked them if they could help us out with this (our original wedding photographer really didn't do that good of a job, he was inexpensive but with the strain of the circumstances and everything, the pictures turned out lousy!) We're not sure if they are going to be able to yet, since they might have a more lucrative wedding to film (I don't blame them one bit). I'm hoping my brother can **** it for us on our ***corder. Well, that's about all for now, I'll post as more developments come up!!