A 4th of July Engagement Celebration!

Sometimes having a wedding blog is really, truly, awesome.  Like, for example, when I get to share super cute, super fun parties with everyone!  This particular celebration was in honor of my brother A. and future sister-in-law Diana, which was held at my mom’s home in Ohio on the 4th of July!  The weather was perfection and we ended up with a huge crowd and loads of tasty food, courtesy of my mom.  I made the invitation-postcards on VistaPrint, my dad brought the red velvet cake and 1931 Packard with him, and the decorations were scored on a budget from the Christmas Tree Shop (my favorite)!  Guests brought some great gifts for the happy couple, including customized honeymooner tees, and a book of family recipes my mom and I collaborated on.  It was such an all-American party too, with bocce ball, whiffle ball, horses, flowers, and lots of family.  Who could ask for more? 

We are so excited to welcome D. into our family and I can’t wait to share their upcoming October wedding with you all!

A Brief Pause From Our Regularly Scheduled Programming…

You may have noticed my posting has been a little light lately- my apologies.  I’ve been SWAMPED!  J. and I are in the midst of some serious DIY renovations in our soon-to-be new home, not to mention I’ve helped to throw 3 showers in 4 weeks, and now, to add icing to the cake…

My very first niece was born on July 6!  J. and I got to meet her Saturday and she is just absolute and utter perfection.  I’m in love.  While we were there, of course I grabbed my camera and started playing.  Look at this great shot I got while J. was holding her!  I’m just so excited to learn all the things my new camera can do, and I adore this one!  Though, let’s keep it real, you’d be hard pressed to take a bad photo with such a gorgeous subject.  Introducing baby Ella Grace!

Those Handy Little Freebies (Part II)

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I blogged about the free downloadable template I used to create a bridal shower invitation for my stepsister.  Well, after figuring out how simple it was to do I was pretty hooked, and I started looking at other downloadable templates.  And that is how I discovered (courtesy of iDIY)  these STUNNING downloadable templates from Download and Print.

These templates have quickly become all-stars in my crafting projects because they are so easy to use- you download them in word, print them on cardstock, and then just use a paper cutter.  Because the background color comes from the paper itself, you have tons of flexibility in terms of color scheme, and I especially love that you can choose your own fonts.  Love!

I used the last ones (Dandelions!) to make an engagement party invitation for my Stepsister’s upcoming e-party, and look how cute it came out!  I ended up photoshopping the design a bit in order to make it into a file I could upload to VistaPrint (you knew they had to be involved somehow didn’t you) because I knew I was not going to have enough time to print these myself, but I’m still extremely thrilled with the product!

Are you sold yet?

The Psychology of Romantic Love

I definitely agree with the school of thought that marriage takes work- of course it does.  I think everyone can agree on that.  But what’s even more interesting to me, is the kind of continual soul searching required by marriage.  I just finished reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and in it, she talks about happiness in the way I think about marriage:
Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.

One might argue that my attitude is just another predictable manifestation of the Protestant work ethic we hold so dear on the east coast.  One might argue I’ve taken too many feminist theory courses.  And of course I’ve only been ,married for 6 months, so right now I’m still pretty blissful, what do I know?  Then again, as a child of divorce I’ve always been pretty in-tune to the marriages around me (there are some pros- and enormous cons- to this level of “tuned in-ness” but it is just how I’m built).  So, for better or for worse, whether I’m being fatalistic or realistic, I think a fundamental amount of work is required to maintain a healthy marriage.

And that is precicely why I was thrilled when my bridesmaids gifted me the book The Psychology of Romantic Love.  This is a great book.  A.  Great.  Book.  I’m not a huge book-review-writer so I’ll keep this short, but suffice it to say that the book is absolutely chock full of insight into modern relationships and it floored me how I could look around me and see one application after another in my world.  Once you begin reading the book, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that the author is one of the leading authorities on self esteem issues.  My favorite insight is that we have to stop fighting the fact of our “aloneness” in order to be ready for a partner.  I also like the discussion of one’s partner as a sort of psychological “mirror” which reflects the person you actually are.  I think this is an absolute must-read if you are in a serious relationship or if you like pop psychology.  It is super-duper interesting stuff with super important practical applications.

I’m not saying I have it all figured out- or that Nathaniel Branden does either- but this is a great read!

Have you read any books that have really spoken to you, on the topics of love or marriage?

One Woman’s Trash…

Is another’s treasure?  This isn’t generally a phrase I think of when it comes to weddings.  But I recently stumbled upon a new wedding resource, I Do Now I Don’t, and I was intrigued.  The founder first got the idea when his engagement didn’t work out.  What to do with the ring?  Well, apparently due to the retail markup on jewelry, the retailer wouldn’t give much of a refund back, so he found another way to sell the ring and his website was born!

Of course, not all the jewelery on the website has such a sad story, but it’s really such a great idea.  You can buy rings, obviously, but they also sell other jewelery and even wedding gowns.  And the site seems to have a lot of built in protections so buyers and sellers feel safe.

The flip side of buying a ring with a prior story, is that some people are certain to fear passage of a “bad karma” but really, it’s just an object right?  The meaning only comes from what you assign to it.  Seems like a great idea to me!  The sellers get more return on their investment than they’d get at a jeweler, and the buyers get more bang for their buck.

What do you think, assuming quality isn’t an issue, would you feel comfortable buying a ring from I Do Now I Don’t?  I kind of think I’d be ok with it, and then I’d be even more ok with taking the money I saved and spending it on a honeymoon upgrade!  Plus, isn’t there something to be said for taking a found object and giving it a new life?  I usually think of this concept in the context of home improvement (salvage an old dresser!) but why not bigger ticket sparkly objects too?

(By the way, I’m not getting comped for this post, I’m just interested!  And all images link to their source.)

Why Post-It Notes Will Never Be Obsolete

Friend R. recently pointed me to this idea for planning seating at your wedding, which I think is an excellent tip, especially for all you visual people out there.  R. had 250 guests at her weddding, and so determining seating for her group was quite a task.  Overwhelmed, R. turned to a friend in fundraising, who recommended using pink and blue post-it notes to plan the seating.  Apparently this technique is quite popular for planning benefits and fundraisers, and it makes total sense.  With so many guests, I think it was the perfect approach- and it’s the kind of thing that literally anyone can do.  Here’s how it worked:

Here’s what she did:

Step 1:  R. blew up an image of the room layout which had been provided by her venue, and had it printed on large paper.

Step 2:  R. cut out smaller pieces of paper in the shape and size of the tables in her layout. 

Step 3:  Using post-it notes in pink (with ladies’ names on them) and blue (with the men’s names), R. started by affixing post-it notes to the “tables.”  She played with varying combinations until she had her guests all “seated” into the right groups.

Step 4:  R. Then put the tables onto the big sheet of paper in different configuations, until the locations of various tables worked perfectly.  R. made sure to take into account things like the location of the bar and band, the location of her family members, and so forth.  In her case, she tried to keep generations together, and family members together.   Of course, there are many ways to seat people, but this worked for her group!

Step 5:  When all was said and done, R. assigned the table numbers based on the room layout. 

R. says the biggest challenge in her planning was dealing with all of the different stakeholders in the process- mothers, in-laws, friends, fiances- they all had opinions and she knew she could never make everyone 100% happy.  So at the end of the day, she did what all smart brides do- she did her best and then cut herself some slack!

What other tips do you love for figuring out tables and seating?

image source

Kristin and Chris’s Dreamy Engagement Pics

I love engagement shoots.  They are such a great way for couples to show off their sense of style, their personality, and their love for one another.  Kristin and Chris’s engagements- shot by Dreamscape Studio- are no exception.  These two have been together through thick and thin for many years (I know because Kristin and I go way back to law school times!) and I can honestly say you won’t find a cuter, more loving couple anywhere.  And I love how they chose both country and city chic locations for their photos.  It just goes to show you that kind of balance works in relationships AND photography!

I can’t wait to show you their WEDDING!  Coming soon!!!

Carry the Torch: Apply to Blog for The One!

On August 24, The One! will be a year old- I know it’s still a little while till the big day, and yet, it’s just around the corner!  It’s been such a wonderful experience for me to have blogged about wonderful wedding fun for almost a full year now!  But as I’ve moved into my life as a married woman and further away from wedding planning, I’ve found a whole new world of competing demands on my time.  As Robert Collier once said, “One might as well try to ride two horses moving in different directions, as to try to maintain in equal force two opposing or contradictory sets of desires.”  The truth is that I want to do it ALL and the reality is that I simply cannot.

But I’m not giving up on The One!  Instead, I’m looking for a NEW BLOGGER BRIDE (or two?) to whom I can pass the torch!  Don’t worry I will still post too, but I think we need to breathe some new life into this place!   The ideal candidate will:

– Share my desire to keep The One! as snark free as possible, while still maintaining enough space to allow for a few opinions!

– Have an appreciation for budget friendly, DIY, and otherwise personal and unique wedding details!

– Share my philosophy that weddings are first and foremost about commitment, family and love!

– Be an excellent writer!

– Be willing to post 2-3 times weekly!

If you think you’re up for the challenge, please email me, sarah.theoneNY [at] gmail [dot] com, with your name and a brief paragraph about why you’d like to blog with The One!   If you have a personal blog, please let me know the link, and if you do not, please provide 2-3 samples of your written work product- any relevant format will do!

I know there are so many of you out there who have good ideas and I’d LOVE to bring you into the fold!!

Tacky Tacky Tacky

I generally try not to focus on the negative here at The One! but once in a while, I hear about something so appallingly tacky that it would be a crime not to share!

Ok so here’s what happened.  A friend recently received a wedding invitation where, directly on the invitation was the following poem…

To help us on our way

as husband and wife

gifts of cash are welcome

to start off our new life!

Um, excuse me, I know weddings often involve cash gifts, but seriously?  Just because the poem is cute does not mean that the concept is cute.  Every single etiquette guide I have ever read has said that under no circumstances may you mention gifts or registries on an invitation, unless you are specifically asking people NOT to bring presents.  Because nothing is worse than making people feel like they are being invited to a fundraiser.  To make things worse, most people are well aware of the rule and will judge you (severely) for doing it.  Sorry guys but as a public service, I simply have to call this out.

But of course, I’m not only about being snarky.  Here’s a helpful tip- if you want to provide this information in a socially acceptable manner, put your registry information (with absolutely no requests for cash, there are alternative registries that can help you with that) on your wedding website, and the website information can be part of an invitation enclosure.  That way your guests can find out gift information if they want to.  And don’t discount the value of word-of-mouth when it comes to gift giving.  You don’t need to put it on the invitation, and if you do, you’ll just offend pretty much everyone who gets it.

A good cautionary tale though right?  Have you ever seen any invitation faux pas?  And how about www.tackyweddings.com?  That should make every bride-to-be feel pretty good about her wedding choices!

images source

Vedrana and Josh’s Gorgeous May Day

Remember when Josh bought his bride Vedrana last week?  Well this week I’m back with the rest of their stunning May wedding!  The ceremony was held at  St. George Serbian Orthodox Church in Joliet, Illinois, where the couple participated in a crowning ceremony (as opposed to traditional wedding vows).  After the gorgeous, gorgeous ceremony, the celebration continued at The Abbington in Glen Ellyn where the crowd was romanced by accordion AND a DJ.  And best of all, these incredible photos were taken by Mark Meravy, who spent the entire day photographing the love birds.

The bride’s lace gown is from Maggie Sottero, and the bridesmaids had two chocolate-confections to choose from at Davids Bridal.  The darling pink flower girls’ frocks were scored at Nordstrom, and the little girl in brown wore an etsy find!  Even with so much romance and eye candy, however, the bride’s favorite moments of the day were seeing her husband’s face when she walked down the aisle, the moment when the crown was put onto his head (he was raised Catholic, so this was new territory for this good-humored groom), and of course, their first dance (to The Prayer)!  At the end of the day, the guests had an incredible time, and the couple had a personal, perfect day!

Congratulations and best wishes to Vedrana and Josh!