Roundhand Lettering

This is gorgeous.
The lines, the weight, the flow. Mesmerizing.

via swissmiss

year two

August 20th this year marked our second wedding anniversary... and in typical Ben-Dana fashion, we didn't exchange gifts (all I - always - want is to spend time together and maybe dress up & go out to eat). This year we've made tremendous strides in paying down our debt and gaining some financial stability - that it seems silly to give each other gifts when all we want is to use that money to buy paint, wainscoting, build our savings, or a new couch.

The other weekend we saw someone's save-the-date on our friend's fridge. It was cute, as it showed a short timeline of when they met, fell in love, proposed, and are getting married. Ben compared our timeline:

2005, met.
2005, fell in love.
2009, started dating.
2010, proposed.
2011, wedding.

Sooo, we were a little out of the normal cycle but it worked out perfectly IMO. I was crazy for Ben the moment we met in physics lab. That kind of - needtobearoundyouconstantly kind of love. It provided literally the best friendship I ever had. I was really busy with schoolwork (of course, we had the same degree/classes) and beyond involved in SWE and another half dozen organizations on campus. I didn't have time for dating my future husband.

But I kept him close.
And he kept me close.

And when it was time to graduate, grow up, and move across the country, I finally listened to my heart. And I made sure I would never be without Ben, my best friend.

xxdana

Oscars on sale

Stumbled on this dress today online. It reminds me of the very gorgeous jennifer lawrence at the Oscars 2013.

PS. BHLDN is have a big sale - lots of  wedding and bridesmaid dresses and wedding items at much more affordable prices!

tying a bow tie

When Ben was getting ready, before the Wedding, it was quickly brought to light that none of the guys knew how to tie a bow tie. Now, normal/ on top of it people would have printed out directions or read up on how to tie a bow tie. But we thought it was simple enough that they could just figure it out and didn't invest any more time into it. So the boys spend a lot of time looking at videos and pictures and write ups trying to learn how to tie it - and naturally there are a ton of pictures of the groomsmen fiddling with their bow ties.  

This video would have been very useful.

Rent the Runway

Few things make me feel as amazing as putting on a dress, stockings, and pretty jewelry. Nights out with girlfriends, the husband, or just an afternoon wine tasting... I love dressing up.

I fondly remember when I fell in love with dressing up. It was on the way home from our annual family vacation to Delaware, we stopped at the outlet stores. And there it was: pink and white gingham dress with lots of white tulle underneath. I remember being so happy wearing it to the first day of school; And equally sad when I grew out of it. 

That is why I love this site. Rent the Runway takes quality, high end designer dresses and makes them relatively affordable for any special moment you might have: bachelorette party, anniversary dinner, weekend getaway, bridal and bridesmaid needs, etc. Their customer service is second to no one and their boxes ship quickly and are easily tracked. And they have expanded their sizes from 0 to a size 16 (kuddos RTR)!!

Please use my referral link to set up an account (it would be crazy amazing of you!)
http://www.renttherunway.com/referral/dana.brutsche

Here are some of my favorite items right now:

Looking to buy high end, designer dresses? I have the best luck at GILT. 

Totally drool worthy.  

And here is where I buy mostly all my dresses, in case you missed it.

for the love of stamps

I have such a hard time resisting anything: 

stamps. typography. or letterpress.

This time is no exception. How perfect would these stamps be for your wedding invitations?! The stamp adds a lot of character and charm! (and very inexpensive too!)

Find more at Paper Pastries.

Custom Hand lettered Wedding Invitation - $125

Find stock paper at Paper Source

Wedding Invitations

Oh just stumbled on this cute little video our wedding invitation designer did, showcasing our invitation layout. 

We loved working with Kerri, and I super, highly recommend her talents for any announcement or stationary design needs! 

Find her here

5x7 Ruche Invitation . Vertical from Kerri Efendi Designs on Vimeo.

I found your

Wedding jumpsuit.

for a cool $1,130

buy here

I found your wedding bands

His and Her matching "not to be fucked with" wedding bands.

Found here: anna sheffield

Our Reception - special touches

This Christmas, Ben and I are finally going back home to Pittsburgh. The first time back since our Wedding (August 2010). It's crazy how time flies - and to think that I haven't seen my parents in almost a year and a half (even more crazy!).

So I thought I would relive our wedding just a little bit while I wallow in my homesickness!

These were some of the special DIY touches we included in our wedding -

ribbon, signs, diy flowers and photobooth, and homemade touches made our reception special

Oh! and we contacted our caterer from the wedding and asked if we could pick up some wedding pies for the holiday. We loved them so much but weren't able to take any back to Seattle, so this will be a real treat. If you need food or event planning in western PA, I highly recommend Rick at JPCevents.

Table Numbers: Nerdy Baby flash cards

Love is Sweet banner and photobooth props : Little Retreats

Fabric for the flag banner and table settings

pink garland and paper straws : shopsweetlulu

Groom Style

Grooms and groomsmen.. and their style!

I've always been a big fan of classic suit colors and bright, fun accents (ties! suspenders!).

Guilty:

Included a picture from our wedding.

Our guys were just so well dressed :)

Party Dress

 

 

 

alice+olivia

If you have $800 to spend on your holiday get-up or a really rad wedding dress... this is your party dress

If I did the wedding again

I would rock this:

JCREW

with these:

BHLDN

ANTHROPOLOGIE

DKNY

Stripes for the Bridesmaids

I saw a picture of this wedding -- and fell into a jealous love rage.  OMG STRIPES!  How stunning, unique, and fashionable does this look!?!!

Source

I went on a little stripe hunt, so you didn't have to - these are the looks I loved.

From Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

Nordstrom Stripe Full Skirt

Nordstrom Stripe (Plus)

ASOS red lace stripe

ASOS Maxi Stripe

ASOS & French Connection Long Sleeves

Dorothy Perkins Navy

Dorothy Perkins Bright Blue

J.Crew Blue

anthropologie red

Winning on the wedding circuit

I was borderline obsessive compulsive about checking wedding blogs during the planning and preparing for my wedding last August. There was a time I was circulating between 9-12 blogs at a time, within A DAY. It was idea and inspiration overload.

Recently I got to be part of that inspiration for future brides!!! 

Our wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty's "Little Black Book" Site. OMG HUGE!

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2012/06/15/saxonburg-pennsylvania-wedding-from-cardens-photography-jpc-event-group/

Thanks again to my family, friends, and vendors for an amazing day!

Geez theknot.com, a little pushy, eh?

It's Been 6 Months Since Your Wedding...

 And theknot.com thinks I need to make babies.   

STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO, INTERNET.

 

Attendant Gifts!

I love gift giving. I might be bias, but I think I'm really good at it. 
Picking out gifts for the guys and girls was really fun and I hope they enjoyed them!


Groomsmen gifts

Moustache Hand Towels
Beer Shampoo (with Elysian Brewery Beer, go Seattle!)
Bright Socks
Suspenders
Wrapped up in a fabric square!




Bridesmaids gifts

Flower hair pins (H&M)
"You look pretty" Hand Towel
Knot Bracelet
Dressing Robe






(first three photos: me, last photo: CardensPhotography)

Yellow Palette

Yellow has been popping up everywhere, especially at Fashion Week in New York

Here's some yellows to brighten up your days 

             or if you want some nice alternatives to yellow bridesmaids dresses!!

  

Clockwise, starting in the top left.

J.Crew - $50 SALE

Shopbob - $220

ShabbyApple - $88

BCBG - $108

J.Crew - $225

Net-A-Porter - $795

ASOS - $73

Buy my wedding stuff

My sister was kind enough to post some of my wedding items 
(buy them please!)


Place Card boards (holds 80 place cards) -- can be used to hold smaller cards/ envelopes.
$75 OBO       Place card boards


Pie, cake & candy stands! (5 total)
$75 OBO      Dessert Stands

Vases & Bottles (used for flowers, photobooth prop holder, pen holder!)

$120 OBO    Glass bottles

selling some wedding guides (along with other books/dvds) 

http://www.amazon.com/shops/sonodana 

Including: 

"Offbeat Bride: creative alternatives for independent brides"

"The Knot Guide for the Groom"

"The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner"

the Script, ACTION!

Ben and I chose to unite ourselves in marriage... literally.

In Pennsylvania, there are two marriage licenses available. A standard third party uniting license and a self-uniting license. PA is unique in offering this self-uniting license, and after a lot research into it and a lot of discussion we decided to proceed forward with the self-uniting license. 

I put this paragraph on our wedding website so our guests wouldn't get confused when there wasn't someone leading the ceremony.

 
"We will be having a Self-Uniting Marriage Ceremony. This is one in which the bride and groom are married without the presence of a third-party officiant. Self-Uniting ceremonies have deep roots in Quaker traditions - where the community grants and supports the marriage.  Pennsylvania, a Quaker founded state, is one of the few states that authorizes this type of license.
While the wedding will not be Quaker, in religion or methods, we hope you can feel inspired by this tradition."

This ceremony style really posed a challenge for how to sculpt how we would get married. I didn't want to go too far off from tradition, but I also wanted to make it meaningful and true to ourselves. After reading into other couple's self-uniting ceremonies -- a lot of them just had a friend with public speaking skills lead the ceremony, or had bells to signal a transition into the next ceremony event (reading to reading to vows to rings, etc).  

The psuedo officiant wouldn't work: one of the reasons to do the s/u marriage was because we wanted the ceremony to be ours and not done by a friend who got ordained online or an officiant we didn't personally know.  The bells were a cute idea, but I felt like it would break up the flow rather than helping it... that AND bells are expensive, dude.

So with all that in mind, I got to thinking about the ceremony (about 7-8 months before our wedding!). I googled a lot, A LOT of "wedding readings" and while most were standard love poems or religious readings... I was able to find some gems and narrowed down to about 8 unique excerpts, poems, lyrics that defined our bliss. 

About 5 months before the wedding we had an idea of how we wanted to flow the ceremony: Reading, Reading, Reading, Vows, Reading, Rings, Kiss (and then make sure people know it's over and to clap!)

And here's how we made it happen

Ushers guide grandparents & moms to seats

Boys walk up to their spots

Bridesmaids enter, followed by Dad and I

Reading 1

Reading 2

Reading 3

Exchange Vows

Reading 4

Exchange Rings

Sign Certificate (we thought we needed this so people didn't think it was fake ceremony ha!)

Kiss

Exit!

And the Gems that made this ceremony ours :)

Reading 1 - Mr. Darcy's Proposal

Reading 2 - Falling in love is like owning a dog by Taylor Mali

Reading 3 - Love by Roy Croft (we did a shortened version)

Exchange Vows: standard civil ceremony vows

Reading 4 - Stardust (Movie) Quote - Yvaine's Love confession

Exchange Rings: "____, I give you this ring as a sign of my wedded love and faithfulness.
Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you." Got this from my wedding crush

Songs:

Groom and Men, Moms entered in with POSTAL SERVICE - SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS

Maids and Me entered in with BLACK KEYS - EVERLASTING LIGHT

Surprise Exit song (we really didn't tell anyone what it was) was LESLEY GORE - SUNSHINE LOLLIPOPS AND RAINBOWS

 

The whole ceremony lasted about 20 minutes. We both stumbled over our vows but it was over before we remembered to start breathing again!