a glamorous opportunity

a few weeks ago,  a sweet friend asked me to participate in a styled shoot.

remember sarah carpenter? 

the lady behind our adorable one year anniversary photos?

she partnered up with emily at petals couture and put together the most glamorous layout.

i designed the invitation and the macaroon box tags,

and they coordinated the rest of the beautiful tablescape.

all photos were taken by sarah carpenter of sarah carpenter photography and design.

didn't they do a fantastic job?

i feel a little more fancy just looking at the photos!

i feel so blessed to be a part of such a fantastic project.

eat, drink and be married!

today, i'm excited to introduce a new addition to my etsy shop:

eat, drink & be married!

who doesn't love a good mustache?

i can't get enough of the yellow.

maybe it's the last five days of cloudy-rainy weather,

but i just love me some sunshine.

visit gracefully made designs on etsy. 

mr. and mrs. chastain: part 9

no reception is complete without a bouquet and garter toss!  my girls were such great sports, and they were all ready for a fight.  i think the photos make it pretty obvious who won...

even though steph is already engaged,

she said it couldn't hurt to catch the bouquet...just in case. :)

and then the garter toss!

bub-hub's brother caught it.

keepin it in the family after all! :)

our exit was one of my favorite parts of the night.

growing up, sparklers were always my favorite part of the fourth of july,

so i was thrilled when our reception venue gave us the go ahead to light 'em up!

and so we began our life as mr. and mrs.!!

thanks for sticking around for the whole story! 

if you missed anything, or just want to revisit, check out the links below! :)

part 1 | part 2

part 3 | part 4

part 5 | part 6

part 7 | part 8

all photos were taken by Jana at bella bee photography.

the wedding was coordinated by Rhonda at precisely as planned. 

only the best bachelorette bash for the bestie

it's ok to use your best friend's bachelorette party as creative therapy...isn't it?

  

you're invited to:

like every fun party...there are rules.

read carefully.

i'm not a debbie-downer.

the main table, full of snacks and drinks and fun. :)

 i'm not sure about the rest of you, but i tend to judge a party by the food.

just being honest.

as my wise mother has said on many occasions 

"you can spend thousands of dollars on a party, but if the food is terrible, you might as well have stayed home."

i completely agree.
what can i say, i love to eat!

snacks for the evening included:

hot pink cotton candy flavored popcorn

sugar dot cookies

hershey kisses and york peppermint patties

twizzlers
cake pops!

yogurt covered raisins

chips and salsa and guac 

the beverage station was stocked with:

fresca

dr pepper 10 (a.k.a. go go juice. don't judge.)

ginger ale & champagne for mimosas

cranberry-pomegranate juice for pom-settias

this was the motto for the evening.

in case the guests weren't sure what kind of night they were in for, i think this sign removed all confusion. i wanted everyone to have a fun and relaxing night full of lots of laughter and memory making.

 a party just isn't a party without bunting!

you know those cardboard sheets they have in the scrapbook paper racks?

they make excellent bases for painting your bunting. 

 in the middle of the living room, we had a party table full of games, boas, hottie-whistles, beads, and of-course, tiaras!

mad-libs are the best.... 

 each girl was given a pink bag with a pink nail file and a bottle of the bride's favorite nail polish, "topless and barefoot" by essie.

the bride and groom are honeymooning in cancun, which gave me the perfect opportunity for a fun play on words.

the three ladies in this photo with me are fantastic.

i met them in high school choir,

ya i was a choir kid,

and to this day i still consider them some of my sweetest friends.

isn't it fantastic how the Lord puts friendships together? 

 the bride and i at dinner.

she's going to be the most beautiful bride!

i'm so excited to celebrate her big day with her! 

and just when you thought you were partied out,,,
don't forget about breakfast!

it is most important meal of the day after all!

the morning menu included:

fresh fruit

breakfast cassarole

orange juice

iced coffee

chocolate chip muffins

 left over cake pops... 

 each girl was asked to share memories or pieces of advice with the bride.  i wrote them down on white hearts and scattered them on the table for her to read at breakfast. 

i had such a fantastic time getting ready for this event, and i'm so glad everything came out perfect for the bride!  she deserves nothing but the best!

 



inspiration for a bachelorette bash! :)

last weekend i had the honor of throwing my sweet friend's bachelorette party!
i had so much fun planning and crafting and creating, it was definitely a fantastic time all around!

there were so many fun aspects to the night, and of course, i was highly inspired by pinterest. i thought i'd share a few of my favorite pins with you!

i got a giant foam poster board , taped together some envelopes, traced the edges to make my chevron stripes, and filled them in with hot pink paint.

the envelope trick was genius. 

original pin:

Source: handmakemyday.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

 

in case people were unaware that the number one priority of a bachelorette party was to have fun, a little hit pink sign was clearly displayed to spread the word.

original pin:

Source: etsy.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

and now it's snack time! :)

a party isn't a party without cake balls! :)
as i've stated before,,,,,i am not a pretty baker.
i think it was a sign from the heavens when the groupon from Texas Cake Ballers.
i sent the owner an email with photos of the cake ball vision i had formed in my mind, mostly consisting of  sparkles and glitter,,,and she pulled it off! :) not only did the look amazing, they tasted amazing.
i highly recommend the strawberry-and-cream and chocolate fudge.
yummmmm.

original pin:

Source: hwtm.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my texas cake baller's interpretation:

i, along with 95% of the rest of the female population, love mimosas! i think they are so fun. it is nearly impossible to pop a bottle of champagne and not have a fun time.

when i saw this pin, i just knew we had to try it. 

instead of orange juice, i served scoops of orange sherbet, for a traditional mimosa with a twist.  instead of traditional cranberry juice for poinsettias, i  had cranberry-pomegranate and served pom-settias. 

original pin:

Source: celebrationsathomeblog.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

each of the girl was given a take-away bag that contained the bride's favorite essie nail polish, "topless & barefoot", and a pink nail file. 

original pin:

Source: luluthebaker.blogspot.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

next to the sign, i placed a sign that read "when in cancun, choose topless and barefoot", to give a hint to the gift before the girls could open them.  scandalous right? bub-hub thought so. i thought it was pretty clever. 

 

Source: product-girl.com via Krizia on Pinterest

Source: weddingbee.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

we also played a few fun games!

original pin:

my interpretation:

be sure to check back tomorrow for all the fun details of the best bachelorette bash that ever was! :)

   

mr. and mrs. chastain: part 7

after our outdoor reception, we had a second dinner & dancing reception at cowboy's golf club in grapevine. it was the perfect place to hold a celebration on our wedding day.  their main dining room is so beautiful, with austin stone and dark wood accents, it was a perfect backdrop to create our vision.

 

when erin, the site coordinator, first took us into the reception hall, i started tearing up.  almost one year of planning and worrying and creating, and it turned out more beautifully than i ever imagined. she and her fabulous team nailed it.

 

 

we used red table cloths on all the tables, and my mama and mother-in-law made beautiful burlap runners with fabric and lace details.

my mom also made the mr. and mrs. signs for our chairs. such a cute surprise!

 

we had 5 branch arrangements spread throughout the room, and it was a great way to create height and variety.

the rest of the tables were filled with a random collection of 7-9 jars and vases full of sunflowers, white stock, ranunculus, peonies, and a few other stem flowers. we also had woodcuts of various thicknesses that were stacked with jars, and red candles.

 

i had to fight for those tree-branch centerpieces, and i am so glad everyone came around and gave in.

i really loved the look of manzanita branch centerpieces, but did not want to spend that much money.

so we collected branches from the side of the road and from neighbors, filled buckets with concrete and created our own.  we dangled votives from the branches for an extra touch of fun.

my mom came up with the idea to place peonies and hydrangeas in the top of the bucket, and i think it was the perfect finishing touch.

thank goodness for summer storms and a dad with a chain saw!

 

we used smaller branches to create place card holders. my dad and brothers sliced the branches into 3-4 inch sections, and then added a slice across the top to place the cards. each table was named after a school monument or icon.  half of the tables were named for Texas A&M and the other half were named for Texas Tech.

 

 

 

i was in love with the design of my wedding cake. knew i wanted something simple, but rustic and fresh, and i was so happy with how it turned out. because the design of the cake was so simple, the flowers were able to steal the show! and if you look closely, you can see the woodcut cake stand my dad made!

bub-hub loves chocolate covered strawberries, so we made sure to load them up! we even had a bride and groom set of strawberries. how cute is that?

and no reception is complete without a little cake in the face.

for the record,

bub-hub started it, and i was forced to retaliate.

 

i was 100% blown away with the way the dinner reception turned out.

for almost a year, my mom and i planned and talked and planned, but the hardest part about being a planning bride is having no control over the day of set up, which is why i am 100% a fan of having a planner and being picky with your vendors.

 

part 1 | part 2

part 3 | part 4

part 5 | part 6

 

all photos were taken by Jana at bella bee photography.

the wedding was coordinated by Rhonda at precisely as planned.

the reception was coordinated by Erin at cowboys golf club.