Some Small Wedding Details

I thought today I would share some of the little details that we had at our wedding! I'll talk about our invitation suite and all of the paper goods in a separate post, but these are just little additional things I wanted that I did. 

Henry Sketch

So we stuck mostly with our wedding suite from Dogwood Hill in terms of 'branding' for the wedding. However, I wanted a way to incorporate Henry into the night. I found this awesome Etsy page that does custom dog sketches. You pay for the sketch first so you can have the rights to the image. Once you have the rights, you can use it anywhere and everywhere you'd like! Outside of the wedding I actually made both my husband and I stationery with Henry on it- it is so cute!! 

Doggie Bag

In Pittsburgh, there is a regional tradition called the Pittsburgh Cookie Table. I LOVE a Pittsburgh cookie table. Basically family and friends (and/or a bakery) will make all different cookies for a big table. It's at most weddings in Pittsburgh regardless of the style of wedding or the type of wedding, which is another reason why I think it's so cool. I guess in other areas, they call it a Viennese table. I requested that the cookies all be homemade (high maintenance, I know) as I feel like it's more special that way by getting others involved. My family and friends really showed up for this one and made so many beautiful and incredible cookies. My aunt actually surprised me with cookies that were a joke, too. They were the only ones from a bakery and had pictures of ET on them... you know like the alien movie from the 90s? I am terrified of ET and everyone in our family knows that, so this was so funny! I had our calligrapher create place cards for each cookie with the name of the cookie, who made it, and their relationship to me or my husband. We had a seated served dessert, the Duquesne Club's famous macaroons, and cake so I felt like the cookie table would be a lot of sweets for people. There were a TON of cookies so these bags were the perfect thing for guests to take cookies with them if they wanted to! I was glad that this room was separate from the ballroom as it gave people a slightly different atmosphere to go into. This room is attached to the ballroom, so you could still definitely hear the band, but it was a quieter place for guests to talk and catch up and take a breather from dancing. 

Henry Cocktail Napkins

I customized these napkins using the artwork license I purchased and then had Snyder and est. 2020 put on them. You can literally pick ANYTHING your little heart desires on this website in terms of customization. I actually ordered napkins that said 2021 and decided that I wanted to use the 2020 ones instead. I felt like they represented our path and story and a nod to everything that we had gone through. Also, we only used these when someone ordered the 'signature drink' which was a Moscow Mule and my husband's favorite drink! So now we have a bunch of leftover 2021 (and 2020) napkins that I will be using probably for the next 10 years, ha!! Honestly, I ordered way too much of almost everything.

Matchbooks

The only thing I ordered too few of were these matchbooks! We did not do favors but instead donated to The Ronald McDonald House in honor of my husband's brother who passed away from cancer when they were children. I thought the matchbooks would be a fun little thing to have sitting at the bar, however, they were almost all gone before cocktail hour even ended! People seemed to love them. I do love a good matchbook, but I truly didn't think that many people would be taking them! Again, like the cocktail napkins, you can literally have anything put on these matchbooks. I actually didn't re-order 2021 matchbooks, so we really did completely run out! In that same vein, I recommend keeping a few of everything you order for as a keepsake!! So we still have like 3 matchbooks here at home.

Monogrammed Cocktail Napkins

I looked all over the internet to find the best price on cocktail napkins and this was it. Also, there are a million and one sources for 2-ply cocktail napkins out there but it's tough to find a good 3-ply source. These were so nicely done and so luxurious feeling compared to other cocktail napkins. Again, I know most people would not notice the ply of a cocktail napkin, but guys, it's ingrained into me since this was my job years ago, haha!! So this is the only thing I did our married monogram on and probably will only ever be the only thing, ha!!! Our married monogram is sSa and all I can see is the derogatory word for bum spelled backward!! I think it was fun to indulge in it this one time, but never again But we will also have these probably until the day we die since I ordered way too many, but I don't mind because these are so useful when entertaining or packing a picnic! Also, I should say that there is technically no such thing as a married monogram, but I'm seeing it more and more as a common thing, so I think we'll see the 'rules' change on that in years to come! For everything else, we had a duogram done by Dogwood Hill! 

This was the proof that they sent us! 

Light Up Foam Sticks

I feel like I have seen these at like every wedding in the past 2-3ish years. They are definitely 'trendy' and kitschy, however, guests have SO much fun with these and it's not like they really end up in any of the super important photos. I know I personally love these sticks at other people's weddings!! I really wanted a very 'proper' black-tie wedding, but sometimes when things feel too proper, people don't feel like they can let loose. I was looking for ways to signal the message 'ok time to loosen your tie, let's PARTY'! Safe to say it definitely worked as people danced with these all night! If the sticks aren't your thing, they have a million and one different light-up things on all sorts of party websites. I stuck with just the sticks and feel like that was plenty for our guests! And, if you're wondering about storing them, these sat in our garage in a box for nearly 2 years. I was worried they'd be dead by then, but nope, they worked! I just had them in a cute rattan basket that I picked up at Target and our event coordinator brought them out to pass out! As a side note, I think these would be a huge hit for a child's birthday party, haha! I remember getting these in the mail and turning one on and just thinking about how much my sister and I would have died over these light-up sticks when we were little!

Dog Stickers 

We took the Henry artwork and made stickers out of them, too! We used these on packaged dog treats. I got cellophane bags and ribbon and put Milkbones in each bag and then topped it off with the sticker so everyone would clearly see that it was for dogs. I also framed this little sign. I don't love signage at a wedding, but I was so worried someone would take one of these and eat them (literally my mom has eaten a dog treat before because she thought it was a cookie, and we still tease her about it to this day, HA!!!) so I wanted to be as clear as possible, especially because they were on the cookie table! Also, I was going to do some sort of bakery/gourmet treat, but I worried about dogs being allergic to things. The Milkbone treats had the brand stamped on each treat so people could see exactly what the treat was and they would either be familiar with it or be able to google it before giving it to their dogs. Plus, I felt like Milkbone was a very recognizable dog brand so people would probably know if their dog could have it or not. I've been using this site to order paper goods since college and you can literally get anything made and it's very inexpensive. The stickers were SO easy to make! As a side note, these dog treats, the welcome bags, and the bows on our programs took 5 of us (my mom, dad, sister, me, and my husband) an entire night to assemble. Hours. I can't imagine if we had 200+++ guests. If you ever wonder why people hire a wedding coordinator, that is one reason why, ha!!!

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Ok now let's talk about the vibe of our wedding. It was Wedgwood blue. I didn't want it to look 'theme-y' or to be super obvious, I just was inspired by Wedgwood jasperware and so I kind of planned everything around that 'vibe'. For years I collected Wedgwood jasperware pieces and we used many of them throughout the night. 

Wedgwood Coffee Table Book

This was our guest book. I wanted something that would blend in with our decor and so I thought a Wedgwood coffee table book would be the perfect thing! It's now sitting on our buffet under our monogrammed champagned bucket (that was a wedding gift). I'm glad it has a place 'out in the open'. This was another thing I didn't really care about- a guest book- but again, in hindsight, I'm really glad we did this. So many people wrote in it and wrote the nicest messages. It kind of felt like reading a grown-up yearbook, ha!!! 

Cake 

How fun is this cake? I shared some Wedgwood images with the pastry chef at The Duquesne Club and this is what she came up with. They wrapped up the top portion for us to freeze and eat on our first anniversary so it is currently sitting in our freezer. I loved this cake. I really didn't care about having a cake at our wedding as I just felt it was not necessary, but in hindsight, I am SO glad that we did. The cake cutting was not as cheesy as I was thinking. It was not announced as I didn't want to make a big scene, but I've since learned when you're the only one in a big white dress, people notice it all. So we had a mini paparazzi as we cut the cake, ha!!! It was on the smaller side because we only had them make a cake that would feed about half of the guests. They said they could have made another tier or two that were fake to make it look more substantial, but I just felt like that was unnecessary. Since we had a served dessert and had a cookie table, I felt like serving the cake would have been overkill. So the cake was cut and then placed on a table in the same room as the cookies. We were glad we did this because there was a lot of cake leftover, people seemed to be much more interested in the cookies.  It was a carrot cake with buttercream icing and it was delicious!!! 

Framed Photos

We had framed photos on our escort card table and then they got moved up to the cookie/cake room. They were of loved ones who had passed away. I had a photo of my grandparents on my mom's side, Mac our dog who passed away in 2018, and my grandpa. My husband had both sets of his grandparents and his brother who passed away from cancer when they were children. Most of th silver frames I got from Homegoods and the Wedgwood ones were antique/estate/ebay finds. 

Bouquet Frames 

I found this on Etsy and it was the best find! They are tiny little silver frames that can be attached to your bouquet. They fit tiny photos of loved ones. Again, this was my grandpa, Grandma and Pappy, and Mac. I felt like this was a beautiful way to honor them and have them with me on the day. I also had the ribbon monogrammed with our duogram by Aimee from St. Clair Stitchery. She is local to the South Hills in Pittsburgh and does so many beautiful monograms! Our florist assembled this all together! I passed down the frames for my sister to use on her bouquet next spring! 

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As a wedding gift, my Grammie gave us a Wedgwood jasperware tea set. I have to show you the note from her card. In case you can't read it, it was a gift from my grandpa on their 10th wedding anniversary!!! The most special thing in the entire world. I cannot believe she passed this down to us. A true family heirloom and treasure that I will cherish forever. If my grandpa were still alive today (he passed away in 2010) they would have been married for 71 years on September 23rd. We celebrated their 50th anniversary back in 2000 with all of our family in Williamsburg and even though I was 10 years old, I still remember so much of that trip! Also, as a side note, is her handwriting not beautiful? She writes so neatly and elegantly! 

Sharing Grammie's gift also reminds me to tell you about this one other gift we received from one of my dearest family friend. Her dad and my dad went to high school together and we have known each other since birth. We have vacationed together and our families spend holidays together. It was a beautiful crystal clock from an antique store that I just LOVE. She said her parents have had a clock on their mantle for as long as she can remember. The clock was gifted to her parents as a wedding gift from my grammie and grandpa. She had always thought the clock was so beautiful and special and wanted to give us something like that to remind us of the good times we have all had together and the good times that are still to come. I immediately placed it on our credenza below our TV. We don't have a mantle but if we ever do, I will sit it proudly there. Honestly, I have gotten teary-eyed typing out both of these gifts. I have been so touched by the thoughtfulness and love throughout our entire wedding weekend. I've always felt loved by my family and friends, but throughout our wedding, I felt so incredibly loved. Honestly, I'm not sure I can even put into words how loved our family and friends made us feel. I will never forget it. I never want to sound like I am gloating, but I feel so deeply lucky and I do not take any of it for granted, not even for one second!