Invitations

Invitations are very important, they are one of the first signs of what kind of wedding you are planning on having. I am having a nature themed wedding in the spring. So my invitation had to reflect that, I am also a stickler about paper texture and price. The invitations that I decided on work for both categories. They are made of a wonderful card stock, and work double duty as invitations and response cards. I love that they have everything included, and the company will even fill them out for me. Here they are:



I searched high and low for invitations that I loved and could afford. I would rather spend my wedding budget on something more substantial than paper. This website allowed me to do it, and they even have free samples!!

http://www.annsbridalbargains.com/index.jsp

Theme

The theme of the wedding is beginning to be a very integral part of the planning process. It is no longer enough to say a Spring wedding with these colors, you know how to choose a theme within those parameters. Our theme came very easily to us, we wanted an indoor/outdoor wedding in a naturally beautiful venue. We wanted to bring nature inside, so our theme became nature. This small little matter, of choosing a theme, is really starting to bring together our plans. Everything from the invitations to the centerpieces. We wanted something to bring a continuity together, and that happened to be nature. This theme, I am finding, isn't that popular because I can't seem to find that much information on it. But I'm collecting bits and pieces here and there.

Centerpieces Part 1

Centerpieces can make or break a reception. They must not break the bank but they have to very heavy duty of setting the theme and ambiance of the reception hall. Our wedding being two years out we decided that with our spare time we should figure out the perfect centerpieces. The groom wanted to do live trees, and that proved too expensive. So I found some Manzanita branches, and ordered those. We mounted two branches to a board. Now we have to figure out how to decorate them. Our theme is nature and spring. SO we must take these bare branches and make them look like a tree in the spring without looking too whimsical. That is our challenge.



This is the beginning product.

Wedding Venue

The wedding venue is probably one of the most important choices that a couple has to make. This choice was even more complicated by the fact that my grandparents are paying for the wedding so they have to like the venue as well. The venue for us had to be big enough, allow for a rain plan, and had indoor/outdoor space. We started our search a day after we got engaged. I thought this was ridiculous but my mother insisted. The first venue was the Salado Inn, it was beautiful and almost perfect but it just couldn't accommodate our guest list. This got us looking at places in Salado. It was about ten miles from our house, and close to my grandparents and the Groom's parents. We looked at quite a few but finally decided on this place.



Tenroc Ranch, thanks to Helen Caperton for recommending it to Nana. Tenroc actually has two different venues inside of it to choose from. There was Sirena, and the Blue Heron. Sirena was more suited to our size, but we did not like the ceremony area. Blue Heron's ceremony area was an amphitheater, and my fiance being a history major, he ate it up. Also the size of the reception area allowed us to have a rain plan. Rain is probably my biggest worry.What sold us to Tenroc, and the Blue Heron specifically? It would probably have to be the amphitheather and the bride and groom rooms. Pictures do not do justice.



You can check out the website here (www.tenroc.com). There is a virtual tour and everything.

Wedding Date

We had quite a few obstacles to overcome when choosing a date. We decided on a spring wedding. We had to make sure it was after Easter, don't want to serve a bunch of Catholics steak on a Friday during Lent!! What is the collective term for a denomination?! Anyway, we had to avoid the Groom's Father's birthday, and the Groom's nephew's birthday! We also had to avoid the April showers that Texas is famous for. I have always wanted a fall wedding, but we decided that the spring would be better and not so hot! I mean we've been camping in November, here in Texas, and it was too hot for a campfire.
We choose a Saturday for the ceremony and reception to allow our guests time to make to the wedding venue. Also so that we can have the dinner rehearsal on Friday. So our date ended up being April 28, 2012. Why so far out? Well, that is the semester that we are graduating, also the semester that we are student teaching. We felt that it would be better to have time to save up and plan for the wedding since the student lifestyle is so busy!