Winter's Approaching

Although I realize we are still a couple of months from winter (as fall hasn't even officially arrived!), I've come to the realization that before we know it winter will be upon us again. For me, one of the first official signs of impending winter is when I must begin wearing closed-toe shoes again - and guess what I'm wearing today? Yep, you guessed it. My piggly wigglies are enclosed (and feeling mighty claustrophobic today - especially since I also had to put on knee highs) for the first time in months. It's cloudy and chilly here in Indiana and from the looks outside it doesn't look like winter is too far from arriving.

In honor of this, and the fact that I recently added some winter products to my shop, I thought I'd post a little winter wedding inspiration blog. I'm getting chills just thinking of it - and not chills of excitement but chills because I literally shiver all winter. :)

I love winter weddings that utilize the color scheme of blue and white. (Probably why I chose these colors for my own winter wedding.) I recently found the above invites in Etsy and thought that they would work perfectly for a winter wedding affair. I love scroll and damask patterns and this one is fun yet very elegant at the same time and I'm really into rounded corners on stationery these days. And doesn't the front and back of the envelope just scream 'Open me now?'!!!

During my own winter wedding I also utilized feathers. I wish I had found this bouquet idea (available at another Etsy shop) before my wedding. The feathers fanned around the flowers are just too beautiful and the satin wrap is also way too gorgeous.

Now, the above is actually a photo from my wedding. When my parents were married (over 3o years ago) they also had a winter wedding. My mom had her bridesmaids carry muffs instead of flowers so I decided to carry this over into my wedding. My mom handmade each of the muffs for my sisters/bridesmaids. I also had the florist attach a little arrangement of flowers to each of the muffs. Thought this was an original yet beautiful way to stray from the typical bouquets. (Plus I still put mine out each Christmas - minus the flowers, of course.)

Wouldn't the above make very cool boutonnieres. Now I'm usually not a huge fan of faux flowers but this winter boutonniere utilizes dried flowers and feathers, and it's catching my eye.

And, isn't this purse just fabulous? The attached little broach is also too cute.

And this ring pillow - yep, it's to die for too. Yet another Etsy shop. (Seriously wish I had known about Etsy before my own winter nuptials).

What winter wedding would be complete without a shawl or cape? The above is a capette so it's a bit shorter than a cape but a bit larger than a shawl. Of course it's also in the feather theme.

What a wonderful way for a bride to make a dramatic statement. Isn't this headpiece just too feathery and fabulous? I picture it matching a very basic, and slender, bridal gown perfectly.

The above is another picture from my winter wedding. Before I'd even chosen my wedding colors or theme I was doing research online and learned that birds were a symbol of love and that they are considered messengers of good things to come. With this being said, I knew that I wanted to integrate birds into my wedding. I happened to find the above hand blown bird ornaments in blue and white and thus I decided to choose blue and white as my colors and integrate feathers into my theme.

Seating (and thank you) cards were attached and they were clipped into a white flocked lit Christmas tree. I loved this idea as the ornaments were something that I knew that guests would actually use (and not just toss after the wedding) and that they would also think of us for years to come when they hung these pretty little ornaments on their tree.

The only problem with my thinking was that I fell in love with the birds above at a retail shop (Parisian) and they ran out in my local area (I visited every shop) before I had enough for my guests. I luckily found some similar birds (but only in white) at another local retailer and guess what? They didn't have enough either. So I ended up going to every single one of these stores within an hour and a half radius (one here and two there, etc.) until I had enough. Luckily I had a small wedding or I would have been out of luck.

If I had thought about it then, I would have saved myself a lot of time by purchasing them all online in one fail swoop. (Yes, I am now offering similar handblown glass bird ornaments in my online shop. I am also able to attach seating and thank you cards.)

Yet another wedding photo - our little bird themed cake. It utilized crystallized twigs, craft birds, edible shimmery snow and glitter, and a tree trunk as a cake stand.

Isn't the above tablecloth just too beautiful for a winter wedding. Love the texture and pearls - kind of like snow, okay - not really but it it would be perfect for a wintry white wedding.

Hopefully you enjoyed my winter wedding inspiration and that I haven't made you too depressed that summer, and warm weather, is almost officially over. :(