It's Christmas Time!

Yes, we did it. Mr. SE and I have already started decorating for Christmas this year. We're hosting a holiday party on December 4th and traveling for Thanksgiving, so this was our last weekend to get the house in shape. Our previous Christmas trees were either from college or hand-me-downs (we have 3)- so we were excited to buy one of our very own.

(all the lights are clear- but the picture makes them look somewhat colored)

We chose a gorgeous 9 ft pre-lit beauty from Home Depot, and scored a great price. The theme for our downstairs area is red, gold, and silver. I've been purchasing little accents to have around the floor, and I'm really happy with the look so far.

The tree still needs to be decorated, so I don't have any pictures to post now. But I'll be sure to document our first Christmas in this house, and our first Christmas as newlyweds. Have you started decorating yet? And did you do anything special to celebrate your first Christmas as a married couple? We're really looking forward to starting some traditions of our own!

Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest...

...Put our service to the test. Tie your napkin round your neck, cheri, and we'll provide the rest!

Okay too much Disney fun for Miss SE. When we first hit the ground running with planning, I was an incredibly ambitious bride to be. Pomanders? I'll make 100 to line the aisles of the Cathedral. Guest Book? I'll print all the hanging cards with cute sayings and tie the ribbons myself. Now there's 94 days until the wedding and this bride to be is feeling somewhat overwhelmed!

Today I'm looking for guest book inspiration. My wonderful florist Hillary, from Brocade Designs, will be setting up a gold manzanita tree on a bed of ivory hydrangea. We'll have cards with ribbon laying around the tree, and encourage guests to write well wishes and hang them. Martha had a cute article awhile ago about having prompts on the cards, such as"love is..." or "always remember...", in case some guests have writer's block. I love this idea- and we'll definitely be doing it! Now if I could just find that article...

Here's some alternative guest book options. How are you planning to do your guest book? I'd love to hear your ideas.

**Update** I found the article from Martha!

Color Palette Conundrum

I'm at a total loss for our color palette. After changing venues, we're back to the drawing board. Our new venue has a gold ceiling, just like the Cathedral- so I'd like to keep gold as an accent color. I'm drawn to the warmth of a gold/champagne/peach palette, but I've always loved blues and I'd like to incorporate that on our wedding day. Here's some palettes I'm into right now.

I'd love to hear your opinions. Can I do teal/gold/royal without looking like Mardi Gras or too gaudy? Would peach/apricot/gold be too muted for the end of summer? Please help me out. Any suggestions for palettes using gold would be greatly appreciated!

{Gold, Peach, Apricot}

{Gold, Royal Blue, Teal}

and perhaps accents of purple

{Gold & Navy}