Cakes to Talk About

Sorry about not posting for a few days but I was home visiting some family. Today, however, I am having a major sweet tooth so I thought I'd share some delicious looking cakes that I'm dreaming about tasting. Be sure to post a comment and tell me which one you like best!

First, we'll start with the traditional wedding cakes. I found these four on Martha's website.




These three I found on the Better Homes and Gardens wedding website.


Now of course my budget ($5000) won't allow for most of these gorgeous cakes but I can use them as inspiration and either try to find something smaller that looks similar or try to make it on my own.

Which ones do you like? These seven are my current favorites and I just can't make a decision! Good thing I have lots of time! :)

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

DIY Invitation - Free Template!

I found this link on Once A Bride's blog and just had to share! Its a free template for some gorgeous invitations for all you out DIY brides out there. Take a look!How gorgeous are those! I'm reminded of my grandmother's plates when I look at these and I love anything with a Victorian feel to it! The design is from Wedding Chicks and it is free to download if you click here.

Click here to see Once A Bride's original post and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Bouquets to love

So today is Martha Day. I love Martha Stewart and I could spend all day clicking through her website id it were not for everything else that needed to get done. Today I decided to share my love of Martha by showing you a few bouquets that I am absolutely in love with and am currently day dreaming about. All were from her website, which you can get to by clicking here.





I especially love love love the green one in the left column.
Have a great day everyone!
Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Hurray for Bridesmaids!

Today is bridesmaids appreciation day. Unfortunately it is not yet a national holiday but hey maybe it will catch on. We've all been one and we'll all have one (well probably) so here's a little video about the history and greatness of the Bridesmaid.


I found this on Gerber Daisy Bud's blog on Bridal Buds and just had to share it! Click to see her blog here.

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Champagne Brunch at the Arden Hills Resort and Spa

Here's a gorgeous venue which I had the joy of visiting on Sunday. The Arden Hills Resort and Spa, located in Sacramento California, is absolutely gorgeous. Last weekend they had a champagne brunch which included tours of the location and a fashion show. While there are other areas where you can have your ceremony I am absolutely in love with this villa! Here's the outside.
(By the way, I got the above picture from their website - click here to be linked to it.) The place where the actual wedding would take place was set up for a wedding later that day and I got to take a picture of how wonderful it looked. :)
But the best part about a villa wedding? It includes a night in one of the rooms which overlooks the ceremony site and breakfast the morning of for your wedding party. The rooms are gorgeous and you actually have the opportunity to rent out the whole villa if you wanted a handful of guests to stay with you (weekend wedding anyone?). Here's a picture of the beautiful dining room inside.
Love it! I could day dream about this place all day. If you have any questions feel free to ask in a comment or an email and I will see you all tomorrow!

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

DIY Votive Wrap Templates

So as I was reading all of my favorite blogs today, I came across a fantastic and easy DIY project anyone can use on iDIY.

All you do is choose from the three FREE templates that The Fussy Designer created, print them out on vellum, stretch it around your votive tightly, and secure with double stick tape. How easy is that?! Feel free to click here for the original post!

Here are some of the designs you will find:So get out, be crafty, and have fun!

Oh and PS: Today I am going to an open house in a wonderful venue for the Sacramento area: Arden Hills Resort and Spa. Hopefully I can take lots of pictures, get some factoids, and give you all the information sometime on Monday. But in the mean time, have a great weekend and do something new today. :)

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Awesome Groomsman Gift - Loves it!

So while the boys are over playing Resident Evil 5 in the living room, I decided to do some bored internet searching. Well ladies it payed off! Check out this awesome DIY craft I found by Mrs Lovebird on the WeddingBee.com!



Not only was this a GREAT way to ask the guys to be the groomsmen, but it would be great even as a simply groomsman gift! Check out the link here for detailed instructions on how to take the Guinness label to the Groomsman label!

Budget Woes

Alrighty today we will be discussing something that can be a major bummer - MONEY.

When I first started dreaming about my wedding the budget was the last thing on my mind. But that is honestly the first place you should start your planning. Everything effects your budget and, in my case anyways, your budget may actually plan a HUGE role in determining exactly what your wedding will be like, for example it will probably help shape the guest list.

My advice? Start saving NOW! No amount is too little and even if its $20 a month it can still add up in the long run. Also check out all the great articles you can find on the web about setting up a budget, sticking with it, and saving on your wedding costs. The Knot has a ton of great articles and also a budget calculator which tells you approximately what you will be spending where when you put in your desired budget. It is just a guideline though, and remember that because whenever I look at it I get bummed - $400 for the venue? $1,500 for food?!. Luckily I'm crafty so I will be doing a lot of DIY projects and I have time to save up as much as possible.

But in order to help you on your way, I wanted to include some great links and the first is from a blogger whom I love, Plumeria Bud from Bridal Buds. Here's the link for her blog on balancing your budget with what you want: Balancing Budget with Desires | BridalBuds

Also here's some more great links to articles and tools:
1. Planning - Money Saving Strategies (from TheKnot.com)
2. 10 Tips for Discussing Your Wedding Budget (from Rose Bud on Bridal Buds) - this one makes me smile every time!
3. Wedding Budget 101 (from TheKnot.com)
4. Wedding Budget - Little Ways to Save (from TheKnot.com)
And there are many more. Also both TheKnot.com an d WeddingWire.com have budget tools so feel free to play around with those. Good luck!

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

New place to find the perfect blog for you

For a list of blogs which are categorized and easy to find, click here.

By the way, happy first day of spring!

Drool Worthy Wedding Photos

Today is eye candy day and I have found a few of my favorite couple pictures to share with you, as well as a few tips to getting that perfect shot.

Tip #1: Find a gorgeous backdrop.

Whether its a giant tree or this amazing red wall finding the right backdrop will take your pic from good to great! According to Kathleen Murray from the Knot, "scoping out interesting settings will help create a colorful and playful palette." Just remember that you want it to look real, don't stress if there are kids running around in the background or your husband was looking at your eyes instead of the camera - you want your wedding photos to look like your marriage is real and special, not planned or staged.

Tip #2: Don't look posed.


I love this picture not only because it has a gorgeous back drop but also because it shows some real emotion! She is happy to be married and she's having fun! Your photos should give some insight to your personality. And whether that be goofy and fun or passionate and serious remember to be true to your own style. He he this photo always makes me smile!

Tip #3: Don't stress about the weather.

If its raining, use it! A shot of the bride and groom kissing or cuddling under one umbrella is adorable. Or the above pic, wonder what they're doing back there? :)

Tip #4: Get some privacy.

I love shots where it looks like the bride and groom are in a world of their won. It really makes you feel like they are so focused on one another that the world around them just falls out of the picture. Aww!

And my biggest tip of all:
Tip #5: Have Fun!
Its your special day, you've found the love of your life and now you're celebrating the fact that the two of you were meant to be. Don't bring the day down by stressing too much and enjoy the moment!



Well good luck everyone and hoped you enjoyed these adorable shots!
Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Charitable Registries

Today will probably be a two post day again as there are too many ideas running around in my head. The first and possibly most important is that your wedding registry can actually donate to charities while your guests are purchasing gifts for you that you know you want.

While thinking about what we would give to our guests as favors, I came up with the idea to place a little card on everyone's plate letting them know that we had made a donation in their name to whatever charity (I wanted the ASPCA). This is still a fantastic idea (and please feel free to steal) but I am thrilled to announce yet another way to give back to the community with you wedding!

Websites like I Do Foundation partner with stores to donate a certain percentage of the spending on your registry items to a chosen charity. Awesome, yes? The I Do Foundation has over 60 organizations that you can choose as your charity. I will be picking the National Wildlife Foundation (yay!).

For the I Do Foundation, getting started is really pretty easy. First you register your wedding with them, then they have an online process which helps you register for items at whichever store you chose (they have a list of partner stores). Then you create your wedding registry website using their website and your guests can log on directly and shop away!

While I haven't found any websites which work exactly the same way here are a few that will help you give.
Wedding Channel - this will donate any time someone purchases a gift from their personal website store. They also have an option to register for donations to specific charities.
Just Give - this site will allow you to register for donations to specific charities only.
Changing the Present - this will also allow you to chose a specific charity to donate to as a gift. It can also be used for any gift giving time such as birthdays or Christmas.

Oh and the I Do Foundation also sells favor cards for any of those who would like to give your guests a donation to a chosen charity as their favor! I love this site.

So have fun playing around with these and go give a little!
Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Alternatives to the Guest Book

For those who don't know, I am in love with Wedding Wire, and while I was searching the message boards for interesting things I saw one girl asking for ideas for guest book alternatives. After a few minutes I had tons of ideas and thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

#1. The Wish Tree

Not only is this an adorable DIY project but its also a great alternative to the traditional guest book. Your guests sign a note or give some advice and simply hang it on the tree. At the end of the night you can just take the notes off, place them in a box, and either read them all at once or ration them off through out the year to come. And did you know that this is actually a Dutch wedding tradition? Fun factoids like that always make me feel full of wedding conversation starters! :) Now on to the next.

#2. The Wish Jar

Much like the wish tree, your guests write down a little message (or wish) to you and put it in the jar. Easy to transport and fun to read afterward since the guests will know that no one is going to see the note besides you and you will most likely end up with some great thoughts! By the way this picture came from My Dream Wedding.CA Shoppe where you can actually purchase it if you were interested.

#3. The Guest Puzzle
This was such a cute and unique idea I had to include it! For couples that love putting puzzles together this is not only a way to get messages from your guests but also a fun project for later! I found this on MGC Puzzles where you can purchase it (the price varies based on the size and number of pieces).


#4. The Wedding Recipe Cards
I actually saw this in the Bridal Guide magazine back in 2007 and it just stuck with me. There are many Wish Boxes you could chose from but I loved the idea of making it look like a box of cooking recipe cards. I found the following adorable box from Jean M. on her website for only $25.



As you can see there are many alternatives to doing the traditional guest book. Personally I'm torn between the wish tree and the recipe box. Hmm...decisions decisions.

Well hope everyone had a great weekend and got some good ideas from today's blog! And as always if you have any ideas, questions, comments, or funny jokes (I LOVE finding funny thinks in my email) feel free to email me at weddingsbykate.dream@gmail.com

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Adorable and unique!

I found this on a blog that I have been reading, From Diamonds to Vows. It was the first I had seen anything like it and I fell in love immediately (as is usually my way). Aren't these rock chandeliers adorable!



Now she may not have the time to make them after all, but I just couldn't let them go to waste! Maybe these little beauties can make an impression at your own wedding.



Remember to check out the link below because she even included detailed directions on how to make them. Enjoy!
Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn


from diamonds to vows: exhibit b

A nerd's romantic proposal.

Because I do so love anyone who can be considered a nerd, dork, geek, or goof I LOVED this the second I saw it.



Not only is it adorable and unique, but think of the time it took for him to hack into the game, create the characters using their own personal memories, and still have it blend in with the rest of the game. Now that is what I call thoughtful! Not only did this have me smiling the entire time I even will admit that I caught a tear forming in the corner of my eye.

So to all you boys out there who are worried that your woman won't love your proposal, its the thought and the effort that makes it so romantic.

So share some of your own proposal stories with me! I can just never have enough warm fuzzy thoughts in my day!

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn

Hello World!

Hello virtual friends! Welcome to my first blog post. I figured I'd start with a little introduction, so here we go!

My name is Katelyn. And while I am not officially engaged, my boyfriend and I have had the discussion and at this moment are "engaged to be engaged". Actually I almost passed into the realm of officially engaged last Christmas but unfortunately my beloved felt that he had ran out of time to do what he had planned. And while I am stuck somewhere in between dating and engaged, I have been bitten by the wedding bug and have become a tad bit obsessed with all things planning related. So in this blog I will mostly be posting interesting wedding ideas, tips, DIY projects, and anything else I can come up with.

As for myself personally, you will find that I am a big kid at heart; a girl in love with fairy tale endings and knights in shining armor. I love holidays, cartoons, pretty things, and nerdy boys. I'm a bit of a dreamer, very competitive, and a little naive. I have a bunny named Austin, a goofy but adorable dog named Boo, and a love for anything goofy and fun.

And of course I love to make new friends so feel free to comment or e-mail and of course stay tuned because you never know when you'll find that perfect idea for your walk down the aisle!

Forever Dreaming,
Katelyn