Wedding Reception v2.0

Wedding reception #2 took place this past Sunday and it was lovely. People came from all over the world to see us . Considering the weather they've had this summer in the UK , we were very lucky to have a nice sunny afternoon.

Here's the River Stour where the party took place.

There was a big tent beside the river where we had dinner.

This is what it looked like inside. Recognize those table runners? It was mostly dark by the time we were in the tent. I'm glad I took a photo earlier in the day.

And here's the cake. What a great evening it was. Don't ask me to recall the names of all the guests! We'll be flying back on Monday after a visit with Nick's sister & a few more days with family. It will be nice to have a break after our break, haha.

I heart Circa Ceramics and My Husband

I've been admiring the work of Circa Ceramics as long as I've been a member of Etsy. So, when I had to come up with gifts for the male side of my wedding party, I finally got a chance to make a purchase!

I have to tell you how impressed I was with Nancy & Andy. They were so helpful and willing when I said I needed a sailboat on one of my cups, something they didn't have available. At the last minute I added a cow and a California Highway Patrol car. No problem. I was just so pleased and when the box came in plenty of time I was really excited. They even put a special message on the bottom of each cup from Nick & I. These cups made great gifts and I was jealous of our friends who would be receiving them. (I got one for Nick too, that's his with the mini.)

Well, there's more. Nancy & Andy offered to make a cup especially for me as a wedding gift and even let me choose the design & color. Naturally I chose a sewing machine on a light green cup.

Apparently my wonderful new husband had the same idea. He signed up on Etsy, contacted Circa Ceramics and asked if they'd make me a cup with a sewing machine! Can you believe that? They told him they'd already promised one to me and offered to put a message on it from Nick. How nice is that? Well, I wasn't expecting that at all when I opened my cup this week.


Now we have his & hers Circa Ceramics cups and mine even has a super secret and lovable message from Nick. It's great to know there are still nice people out there, eh? And great ceramics too.

p.s. Nancy & Andy also enclosed a very nice card made by the lovely littlepretty

Etsy Mania...and a Dress Update

Yesterday I received four Etsy packages. Wow! That made my day.

More wonderful bridesmaids gifts, from Jenn Maruska Design. Thanks for making that card wallet for my sister, Jenn. It's so cute!

And one for me.

Some buttons for my monkeys. I also got some cool brownish monkey eyes, but they'd have ruined the photo for sure. Check out Charms Galore for more.


And one for me, haha. I already bought two of lindylou2's sachets, but I just had to get my own and one more to give. Which would you keep?

I've always wanted to buy soap from Hello Crafty, have you seen this one? I'd never want to use these soaps, they're too pretty, I'll just give them away instead. I think my niece will love those little bird soaps. Lucky, lucky bridesmaids.

Dress Update: Yesterday I spent about 12 hours on the wedding dress. I've now got a silk skirt with lining basted onto it. I basted the skirt to the bodice to check the fit before stitching the skirt pieces by machine. It seems to be fitting nicely. Today I hope to start putting the lace skirt layer together. This will be a challenge. The pattern of the lace will overlap and I'll need to hand stitch the embroidery down to the adjoining piece. Does that make sense? Let's just say, it's not going to be fast or easy. Take a peek at the latest photo here.

Handmade Gifts

As you all know by now, I'll be getting married in a few weeks. I'm pretty much making everything I can for this party, but for a few things I decided to just let go and shop! You'll be happy to know that the majority of our wedding party gifts are Etsy purchases (I'm making the rest). I've ordered a whole plethora of fun stuff, here's some now:

I've always wanted to buy some monkey soap. This one's from dreamy1 and will make my flower girl very happy.

My 11 year old niece is going to be a junior bridesmaid. She'll love this necklace and matching earrings from jensjewelry. Jen went out of her way to alter these pieces to fit my niece. She also made a bracelet kit to match.

This one's a gift for me! I bought a bunch of rose colored pearls & crystals to sew onto my dress. When I saw this, I had to get it from RingsbyMarie. She made one in my size and had it in the mail the next day!

Who wouldn't like an adorable little lavender sachet from lindylou2? They smell divine and are as cute as can be. I liked them so much, I ordered 2 more.

Our ring bearer, Nick's nephew, will dig this beetle soap. His mom and my future husband were brought home from the hospital in a car like this. I doubt it smelled as sweet! Thanks to SpecialtySoapShop for making it especially for me.

At my rehearsal dinner/BBQ I will be giving this bracelet kit to my flower girl, Nick's niece. I though it would be a great way for her to bond with my niece. It will be nice for them to make friends before the big day. Put together special by handmadeliving.

There's more to come too! I've been having some fun amidst all the work. :)