Dustin & Jessica's Journey

Over the past few months, I have consistently followed several wedding blogs (much thanks to my friend Rachel who started my collection of blogs to read). A big trend, and something I’m considering, is to use little or no flowers during the wedding and reception. Instead, the bouquets are made of… well lots of things.

One of my favorite ideas was this:

brooch bouquet

The brooch bouquet! The blog Offbeat Bride even had a post on how to make one by yourself, which attracted me even more to the idea.

I also really like the idea of having paper flowers.

paper flower bouquet

I found this idea on the Intimate Weddings blog, but the Do-It-Yourself craft is on this site. I think I could do this and add a couple of magazines or newspapers to them to bring more of my love for journalism into the wedding.

What about a balloon bouquet? Or maybe a pinwheel bouquet? The possibilities are endless! I just want to find something that fits the wedding style but also fits Dustin’s and my style as a couple.

Maddie and Jordan

Thursday, Dustin’s little brother Jordan (or Matthew, depending on who you ask) got married to his girlfriend of 4 (or 5) years, Maddie. First, I want to take this opportunity to wish the couple a happy and healthy future together. The wedding- despite its glitches- went very smoothly and the guests seemed to enjoy themselves. As long as the couple loved it, that’s all that mattered.

As Best Man, Dustin got a taste of what to expect as our wedding creeps closer. For me, I also was put in a position of setting up and planning, which gave me an idea of what needs to be done before the day of our wedding. I know it’s easy to say that you’re going to plan things out way ahead of time and nothing will go wrong, but I know that no matter how much planning is done, there will be problems. There’s always a bump in the road. For me, my biggest challenge will be to remember the bigger picture- the marriage itself will be unforgettable and the glitches give us stories to pass on for generations.

However, I also know that many of the people I have in my life (my mother, aunts, friends, etc.) are detail-oriented and meticulous, and when I ask for their help, I know everything will be done to make sure the day will be smooth, wonderful and all-together a fantastic experience. It’s important to me that my mother and bridesmaids and family know how much I want them to do in the planning and coordinating of the wedding and the reception. Again, easier said than done.

It’s great to know though that I can tap my best friends and be comfortable with the independent decisions they make. I truly am blessed to be around so many amazing people.

Today is July 4th. We’re exactly 11 months until the big day. I’m ready to start the fun!