Photo Projects: Table Numbers & Guest "Book"

A while back I asked the hive for suggestions on how to incorporate our herd of animals into the wedding. Many of you suggested doing something with the table numbers, so I did.
I purchased 2-sided frames from the dollar store and used my photo printer to create the images. On one side is just a photo of either Rooney, Harrison, Onyx or Zazu.
And on the back is the name of said pet and the number. This was a surprisingly quick and easy project, especially with the help of Momma P.

Next we have our photo guestbook. I had grand ideas for the guestbook, possibly a sketch book. In the end we decided to go with a photo people can sign around to keep things simple. The logistics of something so complicated and possibly messy as a guest book were just too much to worry about. We put it in the frame and removed the glass. We are having a rather small shindig (70 guests) so there should be plenty of room to sign.

Are you incorporating photos into some of the details of your wedding?

"Getch Yer Programs!"

When it came to the programs I wanted to keep it simple, but still in keeping with the rest of our paper goodies. We decided on a vertical half-sheet for the layout and to open with a little blurb about our first wedding, written by Mr. Pineapple:

"On September 20, 2008, we were married in a ceremony with only our parents in attendance. The ceremony was planned to ensure that our families, the people who have loved and supported us for entire lives, could see us commit the rest of our lives to each other as husband and wife. We are thankful to them for everything, including sharing that special moment with us. We are honored to have our friends and families here to join us as we celebrate our new life together."

The paragraph is followed by a simple listing of our parents, bridal party, musicians and officiant. We then backed the programs with the same copper card stock used on our invitations.

Done and done.

Did you decided to keep your programs simple?

Mailbox Card Box

Beyond the copper in our wedding, Mr. Pineapple and I really love the use of copper in other elements in our home. Someday we are going to be billionaires and have copper all throughout our fabulous kitchen. When it came to the card box I thought it would be cool to use a copper mailbox that we could then use for real mail. Once I began searching though, reality hit, copper mailboxes are crazy expensive. So, I made one for $15.

As you can see, I used an inexpensive black metal mailbox and copper metallic spray paint. The paint actually covered pretty nicely. I used many many very light layers to make sure there were no drips.

There was one mishap during the painting process. After I painted the back and walked away, it blew over and got newspaper stuck to it and I couldn't get it off. I spray painted over it and hopefully no one will look at the back of the box. :)
Card box. Check!

Our coordinator is going to put the card box out of site once all the guests have arrived so we do not have to worry about any sticky fingers.

What are you using as a card box?

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Mom Pineapple Did Me a Huge Favor

She did 95% of the work for the scarf favors herself! Really the only thing I did was design the tags and draw the lines for her to cut along. Mom Pineapple is a crafting queen and you can bet the lines she cut were perfect. She even counted the tassels on each scarf to make sure they all had the same number. Intense!

I know it is creepy when people dress their pets, but Rooney is different, he loves fashion. Last night he jumped onto our bed with his sweater in his mouth and lifted his paws so I could put them through the sleeves. You'll see him on season 15 of Project Runway.

So here is the step my step guide to making Scarf wedding favors:

Each scarf is 8 inches wide, so you can get about 4.5 scarves per yard of fleece. I was able to get the fleece on sale at Jo-Ann fabrics for about $3/yard. Each scarf costs about $0.67 for fabric.Then I spread the fleece out on my floor and used a yard stick to very very lightly draw lines every 8 inches. As you can see, Harrison the cat helped by getting the fleece all fury and playing with the yard stick.
Then Mom Pineapple then cut the scarves apart.
The next step was to cut the tassels. No need to draw cut lines for this part because any variation would go unnoticed. At this point you have a scarf!I had a hard time finding a local screen printer so I called Sister Pineapple in NYC to rescue me. She made tags for her own scarf project last year. She went back to that screen printer and had him make tags for me. They are brown ink on a thick white fabric. I made the file that she gave to the printer in Adobe Illustrator.Then Mom Pineapple used fabric glue to glue the tags to the scarves. You can then sew all the way around the tag, but the fabric glue works pretty well. We attached two tiny buttons in opposite corners of the tags, just in case.Now just do all of that 100 times and you are done! We are probably going to drape them over the backs of the chairs in the dining room. I think it will be so nice and cozy with all the fleece and candle light.
I cannot thank Momma P. enough for her many many hours of hard work on this project!

Did you make handmade favors?

The Sweetest Addition

When I was a very little girl my parents used to take all of our Easter candy and put it above the freezer so they could ration how much we ate at a time. Well, there was no fooling me. I would sit in front of the freezer with my arms outstretched making sure no one could get to my candy stash.

I never out grew my obsession for sweet treats and growing up sometimes my mom and I would sneak off to the mall and hit the candy store instead of the food court for lunch. (In case you are wondering, no she didn't win "Mother of the Year" that year. I am pretty sure with all this wedding help 2008 is going to be her year though.)

Last week Mom Pineapple and I were at the local greasy spoon eating french fries and ice cream for dinner. It was a couple days after my Sweetest Day post and we were talking about the funny holiday and about Mom and Dad Pineapple being married on Flag Day. I said "if ever there was a excuse to have a candy buffet, Sweetest Day would be it." Mom Pineapple put down her spoonful of turtle sundae and said "Wait. What is a candy buffet?" Her eyes got huge as I described a table full of colorful candy and what has to be one of the biggest bridal trends in recent years.

Once Mom Pineapple's wheels started turning there was no stopping her with talk of giant pixi sticks and a fish bowl full of Swedish fish. Needless to say, once our bowls were clean we headed across the street to the dollar store in search of candy dishes.
Here is the sign for our candy buffet. We bought both this frame and stand from the dollar store. I spray painted the once red frame with metallic copper spray paint. The sign says:
"10.18.2008 is Sweetest Day

A holiday celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region and parts of the northeastern United States, Sweetest Day takes place on the third Saturday of every October. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.

To thank you, our friends and family, for joining us on this sweetest of all Sweetest Days we would love for you to enjoy some of our favorite sweets."
So, I know what you are thinking. "OMG Candy! Also, those are not your 'wedding colors' Mrs. Pineapple." Instead of trying to find candy that matched the decor (which really is only the paper goods at this point...) we picked out our favorite candy of all time. Some of the candies we included are: Giant Pixi Sticks (my mom once asked my dad for a sun roof in her mini van so she could eat them while driving), candy necklaces, ring pops -- get it?, bubblegum, giant lollipops, skittles, twizzlers, starbursts, caramel apple pops, sour straws, reese's, assorted chocolates, taffy, sour straws and little chocolate sports balls. Mr. Pineapple does not endorse the candy necklaces saying they remind him of a frat party. Now I didn't know him when he was in undergrad, but if he means what I think he means, I hope people are eating each other's necklaces.

We bought most of the candy at a candy distributor in Altoona, Pa and most of the glass containers at the dollar store. After all was said and done we spent about $80 on candy and $30 on containers.

I am so excited about the candy table and even though it isn't as chic as some others I think it will most definately be a hit. We have an open bar, but really, you're not going to find me there when all this candy is around!

If you are having a candy buffet, did you chose candy based on color or your favorites? Also, do we get your stamp of approval Mrs. Eggplant?

Clay Flower Completion!

Diane worked like mad all week to finish the clay flowers for our wedding. Over the weekend she sent me many photos of the final products. They should arrive on my front step by Wednesday!
In addition to being an amazing flower sculptor, her photos are absolutely top notch. She said that while working on this order she really felt like a florist with the vases and vases full of flowers throughout her home.
Here is my beautiful bridal bouquet! It's so lush and fluffy and pretty! I cannot believe all the detail in every flower. Each of the tuberose has 21 petals, the ranunculus have 20-25 petals each the roses have 20-25 and the peonys have 25-30. Plus she made 112 clay stems and all of those stephenotis flowers. Multiply all those petals by 6 bouquets and 12 boutonnieres/corsages and you have a lot of sculpting to do.

All of the bridesmaids bouquets are slightly different. Since the girls will all be wearing different little black dresses, I thought it would be fun to keep their bouquets from being identical as well, and Diane agreed.
Here is a photo of Mr. Pineapple's bout. It is going to look great with his copper tie.
Like the girls, the boys will all be wearing different gray suits. They will vary from light gray to very dark gray. We purchased their ties, all in the same cooper and champagne color pallette, but with different patterns. So, in keeping with the variation all the bouts and corsages are also different.

Many of you have asked about Diane's pricing. Like fresh flowers, the price of a clay bouquet really depends on the type of flowers you would like. (The only difference is with clay you can have penoys in October and they will never ever die.) Her bridal bouquets range from $175-$400. Bridesmaids bouquets range from $65-$200.

Is anyone else having a fresh flower alternative for their bouquet?

Showered with Love: Highlights & Hostesses

The Pineapple shower was, well, very Pineappley. There were handmade and illustrated pineapple mirror favors, pineapple punch, pineapple presents and I was dressed like a pineapple.

My hostesses, Sister Pineapple and Bridesmaid Katie, were amazing. My mom helped me shop for thwir thank you gifts since she lives in south Florida where pineapples are quite popular.
We gave them this wacky pineapple bag:

Inside the bags and under the wrapping was a lime mojito candle and a huge bar of pineapple soap. It smells so good, but the taste leaves something to be desired.

Mom Pineapple and I baked a lot of little cupcakes and one realllly big cupcake.

The amount of time and effort Katie and Krissy put into the shower was so incredibly touching. Hopefully, I can do the same for them sometime soon (**cough cough** Alex **cough**).

The Pineapple ladies: Nana, me, Mom and Sister Pineapple Krissy

We played two games in addition to the cake decorating contest. The first game was really hard. Katie asked Mr. Pineapple two sets of questions a few days before the shower. The first set of questions were about him and the second set were about me. My job was to give Katie the same answers that Ryan did. For every question I got wrong I had to chew a piece of bubble gum. Oh man I had soooo much gum in my mouth at once no pictures will follow. I am pretty sure Mr. P got some of the questions about himself wrong. He said he likes to watch hockey live when really his favorite sport live is baseball, no matter what he thinks. ;)

Second, we played bridal bingo. Sister Pineapple made the cards with words that described me such as "Line Dancing," "Pineapple," and "Weddingbee!"

Mr. Pineapple and I don't really have a traditional division of labor in our home. I do all the home improvement and he does all the cooking. Most of the gifts from his family were cooking related, including a copy of the family cookbook. Do you think they are trying to tell me something?

Mom Pineapple gave me a box of fun things for the bachelorette party later that night. Including a pink cowboy hat and boas for all the girls (and one boy). We went to my favorite place of all time, Saddle Ridge. I line danced so much I was disgusting, but I kept the hat on the entire night. The party was so much fun, everyone line danced all night (even those who thought they hated country music) and I was even handcuffed at one point!

What were some of the highlights of your bridal shower?