Mason Jars!

Hey gang!

So, I've started my collection of mason jars and I'm very excited at the results so far. My mom  has found two boxes of them at a thrift store for 20 cents a piece! They range from large to small in size and have a variety of designs on them. I'm also fortunate enough to have a friend that is going to give me 25 or 30 mason jars that are left over from using them at her wedding! I'm so thankful to have great family and friends that are willing to help out and be so generous! Here are some pics of the ones I have so far:

A few of the smaller jars. Love the details with the designs on these.

The medium sized jars.

The large mason jars.

All of the sizes put together...there are probably 40 total jars in my collection so far. These are just a few of them.

These are pictures of the different things that I want to use my mason jars for when decorating!

I'd like to use them as vases.

I think it would be neat to put flowers in them. Better yet, cranberries and floating candles!

Of course, I want to take on the DIY project of making them into lanterns! :)

I absolutely LOVE this idea...I'm going to ask our families to contribute a pic of them on their wedding day and display them in mason jars, or even vintage frames! TBD, however I think having the neat older wedding photos will add to my vintage vibe. Also, I may display some photos of us in mason jars!

I think this is a super nifty idea...using mason jars to hold the flowers that decorate the aisle!

It would be an amazing thing to give out apple butter to our guests in small mason jars that says "Spread the Love. Brian and Amanda. 10/13/12"

Oh mason jars, how I loveeeeeeeeeeee thee! There are so many amazing things you can do with them to give your wedding that extra special touch. I can't wait to collect more and try out some of these ideas myself!

If you have any mason jars or know of anyone that would like to get rid of them, please let me know! I'll gladly take them off their hands!

~Amanda~









The Search for the Perfect Dress Begins!

Okay, so I realize that I still have 514 days until our wedding (thanks countdown on knot.com), but it's NEVER too early to start looking for the perfect dress! I've had a few ideas in mind of things that I think I'd like. Thanks to TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress" I've been able to see different styles on a variety of women and have narrowed down the top two styles that I think would look best on me; Mermaid/Trumpet and Ballgown.

My mom and one of my bridesmaids, Sarah, took a couple hours and went to our first shop. Now, just to clarify, this was my first visit EVER! I really want certain people to be there when I actually choose my dress, but first I wanted to find out what looked good on my body before dragging 5 or 6 other individuals dress shopping. Makes sense, right?

I chose to go to The Gown Gallery on 19th and Main in downtown KC, Mo. It is in a loft style building and looks absolutely beautiful with all of the gorgeous dresses in it! I was very excited and nervous at the same time. The consultant was nice though and put me at ease...for a little bit anyways. I described what I was wanting for my dress. I told her about our venue being outdoors and how I'm going for a romantic, fall, rustic, vintage, and country chic kind of feel with the decor and how I'd like to try mermaid dresses and ballgowns to see what I really like. I am open to lace, light beading, detailing, corset, and ruching. Due to the fact that I am keeping the dress I choose a secret (mainly b/c I don't want Brian to see me in it before I walk down the aisle), here are a variety of pictures of dresses that I'm drawn to. Two of which I actually tried on at the store...

Dress #1

Dress #2

Dress #3

Dress #4

Dress #5

Dress #6

Dress #7

Dress #8

So, as you can see it's going to be a tough choice! I really love all of these dresses for different reasons...and in all honesty, I wish I could buy all of them! haha. And, of course, there are/will be more dresses that I like, but this is just a taste of dresses that I've found so far. My experience at The Gown Gallery was rather positive, but my consultant was a bit too opinionated for me. It was a lot to take in and her comments weren't always very helpful. But overall, I enjoyed myself and left with a lot more clairty on what I am looking for. I will probably try a few other dress boutiques and shop around...especially since I have so much time. If you have any suggestions of places to go, or have opinions on any of these dresses please feel free to share! This is one of my favorite parts of a wedding...so I'm sure there will be other blog posts about dresses! Yay for starting the hunt to find the perfect dress!


~Amanda~

And the winner is....

WESTON RED BARN FARM!!!!!

Brian and I went last week to look at the Red Barn Farm in Weston, Missouri. We were thrilled to speak to the owner Steve Fry about the possibility of having our wedding there. It proved to be everything we were looking for and more. I am so excited to marry Brian in such a unique and beautiful setting! Here are some pics I took while we were there:

Some of the gorgeous countryside.

I can't wait to see it when all of the leaves have changed!

Behind the barn is the apple orchard that we will get married in. You walk through the apple orchard and then there is a clearing for your ceremony site. LOVE IT!

This is the back of the barn where the reception will be held. Please IGNORE the tractors. They will not be attending the wedding! ;)

This is the entrance into the back of the barn. It is very open and has amazing views of the farm. Once again, please ignore the tractors and imagine a rustic, vintage, fall decor in the gorgeous barn!

I am 100% in love with these twinkle lights on the ceiling. I'm thinking this could be potential for the head table and dance floor area...not for sure yet though.

These are some of the chairs they have there. I really liked the brown ones with the arm rests! Very vintage, but I also love the white and brown folding chairs too! Much better than the typical metal folding chairs...Brian laughed when I took this pic, but I feel it's important to do in order to help me remember it all! lol.

This is a really neat and very old piano that is at the venue. Surprisingly it is still in decent shape and even in tune. I plan on using it to either hold pictures on top or perhaps be staged as the cake table or hold the wedding favors! Oh the possibilities!

More of the pretty countryside at the farm. You can see the hayride tractor in this picture too!

As you can see, I am absolutely in love with every last detail and idea I have for this venue. I have a complete notebook full of decoration ideas...mason jars, pumpkins, candles, vintage frames, lights, lace tablecloths, etc, etc, etc!

I can't WAIT to get started! :)

~Amanda~

Venues, Venues, Venues!!!

After choosing a date, Brian and I started to research venues online. It can be a tad bit overwhelming at first, especially when you aren't sure what direction you want to go in. Luckily I have an amazing Fiance who is super supportive and doesn't give the typical guy answer of "whatever you want honey". I realize that at some point Brian isn't going to care about certain things and give me that answer, but with this topic he definitely had an opinion. We decided that we wanted to have a venue that wasn't in the city. This quickly excluded any lofts or extravagent hotel ballrooms that are located on the Plaza, in Westport, or near Power and Light. Although a lot of those places are really cool, they just aren't what we are going for. We chose to call 5 different venues in the surrounding Kansas City area for more information before we went and toured anything. The five are: Weston Red Barn Farms, Longview Mansion, Hawthorne House, The Elms, and Meadowview Gardens. We really focused in on our top 3 favorites for tours. Our top three are: Weston Red Barn Farms, Longview Mansion, and Hawthorne House.

Weston Red Barn Farms:
       Located in Weston, Missouri this venues offers us the perfect rustic/vintage/country chic wedding venue for a fall wedding. Weston Red Barn Farms is a full functioning apple orchard and pumpkin patch that also has animals and two stores full of all of their yummy goodies! It serves as an educational farm touring many school groups every year. Brian and I actually got our pumpkins there this past fall and fell in love with the view of the countryside. You can use any of their pumpkins, gourds, husks, or farm-tiques to decorate for your wedding day. You have your wedding in the orchard followed by your reception in the barn. My obsession with mason jars would fit in perfectly well at this venue. They also offer hayrides for your guests during the wedding, as well as a horse drawn carriage for the bride to the ceremony site. Like I said rustic/vintage/country chic!! Check out these links for some amazing pictures of weddings held here:

http://www.sarahdickersonblog.com/weddings/nancy-jeff-married-weston-red-barn-farm-weston-missouri/
http://www.swsmag.net/blog/2008/10/2/real-wedding-colleen-tom.html
http://www.angeladavisphotography.com/?p=333

Longview Mansion:
If you grew up anywhere south of Kansas City, you can't help but to have visited Longview Mansion in Lee's Summit, Missouri at some point in your life. Wether it's for Christmas in the Park, themed parties, or weddings this historic mansion is full of charm and character. As a former resident of Amli New Longview Apartments, I would run/walk/yog by the mansion and farmland often. Although the community around the mansion is booming this venue has definitely kept up with it's rich history and gracious traditions. It holds indoor and outdoor options for a ceremony then has the pavilion for your reception complete with chandaliers and a dance floor. It would make for a truly magical venue if chosen. Here is their link so you can see a few pics:

http://www.longviewmansion.com/index.html

Hawthorne House:
Located in Parkville, Missouri Hawthorne House is noted as theknot.com's BEST OF WEDDINGS from 2007-2010. It definitely shows in the quality and presentation of this beautiful event space. Hawthorne House sits on eleven acres and has the option of a chapel for an indoor ceremony or gazebo as an outdoor location for your wedding. The reception site is held in the estate's original Manor House that is 112 years old. It has wooden floors, chandaliers, and even a loft for additional seating. It would make for a stunning wedding venue. Check out their website for many more pics:

http://www.thehawthornehouse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=4

I believe that all three would be amazing wedding sites for our special day!!! Now the fun starts with visits to each one. Brian and I will visit Weston Red Barn Farms first on May 10th. I will be honest and say that I am probably most excited to see this venue in person. I have done my fair share of research and stalking photographer's blogs for pictures of the farm to know that it could be a strong contender for our wedding day. I also have a lot of really neat ideas for this venue and am excited to see if it all fits together. (and I'm excited to see what Brian thinks!) I will definitely post our thoughts and opinions of this venue after we take a visit. Please feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, opinions, etc here on my blog or on my facebook!!!

Weston....here we come! :)

~Amanda~