I have chosen the Bristol Harbor Inn as my ceremony and reception venue for my May, 2012 wedding. Since I have gotten engaged, I think I must have changed my color scheme ten times! But now after seeing the venue, I finally have a direction!

Today I stumbled across an inspiration that I think will work perfectly. I love bright spring colors, however I also want to make sure that they fit in with the "rustic" feel of the venue.

Colors: Aqua, Yellow, & Spring Green

So after much discussion, and alcohol tasting, we've decided to include two signature drinks. I would like to just have them advertised at the bar during cocktail hour. Not sure how many takers we will have, but I think it will make for some great photo ops!

The first is our blue drink. We made this one up on our own:

Pama - Blue Martini
-1.5 oz Pomegranate Vodka
-0.5 oz Blue Curacao
-Splash of White Cranberry Juice
-Lime Wedge as Garnish

I have so many things to be chatty about I don't know where to begin! Hopefully done working for the day, I am unfortunately stuck inside while my fiance is at work (with the car!) and it's raining and thundering outside. This is my second week in Florida with my fiance (he has been living here for about a year) and I was so excited that spending the last 40+ days before the wedding living in Florida would ensure that my fair complexion would have the perfect bridal glow. Looks like Mother Nature has different plans for me. It's been gorgeous up north (so I hear) and rainy down in Florida. I guess the grass is always greener, right?

So here I am, thinking of all my to-do's, and staring down the TV where Jillian Michaels is waiting to kick my butt with her 30 day shred. Naturally as the exercise awaits me, I thought I would blog about wedding food :)

As I lamented in past blog posts, the cake was a big decision for us. We eventually decided on Confectionery Designs. They will be making a three tiered mad hatter style cake in blue and brown frosting/fondant. Each piece will have both chocolate and white cake with the associated filling. The chocolate cake is paired with a mocha filling, and the vanilla cake is paired strawberry gran marnier filling.

Dessy has begun to offer wedding websites to go along with their Pantone Wedding bridesmaids dresses and accessories! You can make sure all the colors used in your website match your details completely! All the websites are free and you can choose from a number of different templates. Fun and easy and stylish, can it get any better?

Color can set the mood for your event. We always knew we wanted our wedding and reception to feel intimate, regardless of size. For this intimacy we knew we wanted warm colors included in the palette. The two of us have been drawn to purple and blue combinations. It seemed like a natural fit to include these colors in our wedding. "Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, associated with both nobility and spirituality. (Source: Color Selection - Blue.) Blue is calming, and can be strong and steadfast or light and friendly. Blue Iris (combination of Blue and Purple) was Pantone's Color of the Year for 2008. (Source: Color Selection - Purple.)" For fun, Pantone created a Colorstrology Guide. We decided to look up our colors. Oddly enough, they were a purple and a blue.

Once we had our venue we needed to get a color scheme that worked with the space. The two primary colors at the Swedish American Hall are Ivory (the walls and ceilings) and Espresso (the woodwork and floors).

Our initial color scheme was Black, Aubergine, and Majestic with accents of Ivory (My Dress), Espresso (My Boots and Anchor Steam Candle Holders), and Quarry (Platters used in Table Centerpieces and Vintage Keys). As the primary colors of our venue were two of our accent colors, we didn't need to re-do our color scheme.

Anyone hit up the $1 flip-flop sale today at Old Navy? I did, and thank god I got there at 8:00 because soon after it got crazy! I got 20 pair all different sizes from 6-10 in pink navy black and white. I picked up these nautical tags and stamped the sandal size on them. Then took navy or pink ribbon and wrapped it around the sandal and tied on the tag. Im getting a sign made that says dancing shoes, and a navy basket to put them in. I hope people grab a pair for dancing.

Swiss Dots. They remind me of childhood, wearing a frilly easter dress and twirling around in the sunshine. They are a timeless addition to weddings, but can be used in very modern ways. Example A: This amazing short dress by Sarah Seven:


Photo: Brandon Witzel

Using a gradient of color in your wedding will allow you to use multiple shades and tones of the same palate, adding depth and vibrancy!

This centerpiece was designed by the Queen of Color, Martha Stewart. ( P.S. Did you know she has a line of paint now?) The colors in this centerpiece perfectly compliment the rose colored glassware and the pale pink linen.

All this Rain! Hope you Chatties aren't having crazy issues with flooding. They say April showers bring May flowers, but I'm about rained out! Just incase though, I made this great Rainy Day Wedding inspiration board over at Style Me Pretty! What is your "Rain Plan" for the wedding?