November 21, 2016

Giving with Meaning: our first anniversary

November 21, 2016/ Mary Phillips

Last month on October 18, Kurt and I celebrated our first anniversary! In following the traditional anniversary gift suggestions, we decided our gifts to one another should be paper-based. I've shared in the earlier posts in this series how much I love to celebrate my relationships by giving gifts but giving this gift in particular made me just the tiniest bit nervous! I wanted it to represent not just the happiness of the first year of our marriage, but to remind us of the wedding day itself.

August 25, 2016

Giving with Meaning: bridesmaid gifts

August 25, 2016/ Mary Phillips

As I thought about selecting bridesmaid gifts I sought to assemble items that could be used throughout the wedding weekend as well as after it ended. I wanted to select items that reflected some of my favorite things but also were able to be enjoyed by four very different women. Having this chance to celebrate these women was extremely special. They invested their time and money to help Kurt and I start the next chapter in our relationship, so I wanted their gifts to reflect how much I appreciated that investment and how much I appreciate their presence in my life.

May 05, 2016

Wedding DIY: Lace Hair Combs

May 05, 2016/ Mary Phillips

If there is one thing I have been reminded of during the last week it's that we don't do life alone. Our communities and our circles can be concentrated in the same place we are or, in my case, they can extend outside of the immediate vicinity into the places where we once lived and where our friends have moved to.

April 07, 2016

Wedding DIY: The Music

April 07, 2016/ Mary Phillips

I'm excited to share another wedding DIY with you this week - how Kurt and I approached music for our ceremony and reception! Both Kurt and I grew up with music as a central part of our lives, so, when considering music, we drew upon rather diverse experiences. Those experiences and attending other weddings helped us to very quickly establish what we didn't want - namely recorded music during the ceremony and DJs or wedding bands during the reception.

February 25, 2016

Wedding DIY: Hand-Painted Table Numbers

February 25, 2016/ Mary Phillips

Another wedding DIY choice we made was for Kurt to hand-paint all of the table numbers we used during the reception. Now, before I talk about just how wonderful Kurt is, let me say how little I knew about his skills as an artist when it was decided he was going to take on this project. A musician, yes... but a painter, no way!

February 21, 2016

Wedding DIY: Our Invitations

February 21, 2016/ Mary Phillips

Not long after Kurt and I determined our "focus 3," we began thinking about our invitations. As someone who loves stationery and paper products, I was extremely excited about this part of the wedding planning process. To be honest it wasn't long before I was dreaming about calligraphy and embossed details, about envelope liners and enclosure cards!

February 04, 2016

Choosing when to DIY

February 04, 2016/ Mary Phillips

I don't think I can go an entire day without seeing a DIY project highlighted on Pinterest or Facebook or Instagram. Now don't get me wrong - I love a good DIY project. I enjoy the opportunity for creativity that choosing to DIY provides. You can be charmingly simple or richly complex and the chance to "stamp" something with your own identity can really be meaningful.

January 28, 2016

Identifying our "Focus 3"

January 28, 2016/ Mary Phillips

As Kurt and I started to plan our wedding celebration, I will freely admit I felt the pressure to have this "perfect" or "dream" wedding. What did that mean? Perhaps it was the huge Cinderalla-esque affair, complete with the large ballroom and even larger dress. Or it was the rustic wedding, small and intimate with lots of DIY details. With all of these examples and suggestions competing for my attention, it took me a bit to realize that whatever wedding we were going to plan was going to be the "perfect" wedding for us.