A year ago today...

Yvonne and I decided to hand craft a lot of the details that went into our wedding. We had a “bookish” theme to a lot of the elements which involved the centerpieces for each table and also the flowers. I distinctly remember our wedding coordinator cautioning us against taking on too much, but it was well worth the effort. For the centerpieces we ended up buying a bunch of used books from Half Priced Bookstore and wrapping them in navy and gold gift wrap. The heart shaped books were made by folding each page individually. Our first few attempts were pretty horrendous, but we quickly got the hang of it. We ended up giving away these books at the end of the night. Yvonne did most of the creative work for the flowers. I was in charge of cutting out different sized leaf patters from a dictionary. Yvonne would painstakingly curl and hot glue the leaves onto a wire. The main bunch of paper roses ended up in her bouquet, while the last few were for the groomsmen. Yvonne and the bridesmaids were still working on these the morning of the wedding!

Instead of wasting paper on printing out programs, Yvonne wanted to take up chalking. I remember her staying up late, the night before our wedding, just to finish the Menu and the Program boards. For our guest book, Yvonne sketched out an outline for a tree which I inked. Our guests used their thumbprints as the “leaves” and signed their names on top of their prints. The cherry on top was our initials, which Yvonne wrapped in navy and gold yarn.

I knew I wanted to give my groomsman a unique gift. After talking with my very talented friend, Esther Kao, we came up with a personalized gift kit with a tie clip, collar stay, and cufflinks. She did an amazing job monogramming each item and creating a custom leather pouch. If you’re interested in ordering your own, go to her website at WhollyKao.com.

The quality of food was really important to us in picking our vendor. Luckily our venue, Barr Mansion, had a chef that we were able to consult with in crafting our menu. A few months before our wedding, we were able to attend a tasting dinner which we were able to pick our entrées, sides, and dessert. This is the final menu we went with:AppetizersGoat Cheese & Carmalized Onion in Curry Tart Shell + Chopped Avocado & Bacon Slide on CiabattaSIDESDiced Local Vegetable & Garden Herbs + Corn PuddingEntréesBraised Halibut in Coconut Milk & Lemongrass + Beer Braised Pork LoinDessertDark Chocolate Mousse Cake + Lemon Cake & Cream Cheese Icing with Blueberries

We managed to find a Groupon for a Photo Booth which turned out to be a really great value. Here are some of our favorites!