Melissa & Ty’s Wedding Weekend

by Jessi on June 15, 2013

Let’s end the week (and the wedding talk) with some snapshots from my sister Melissa and her new husband Ty’s wedding weekend.

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We spent Friday getting our nails done, making bouquets and corsages, and visiting with family in town. Ty’s parents hosted a dinner that night with the bridal party and out-of-town guests. On Saturday, we woke up in the VIP Suite (all the bridesmaids stayed together the night before) at our downtown hotel and walked to the Farmers’ Market for Melissa’s bouquet. The rest of the day was spent decorating, rehearsing, drinking champagne and getting pretty. The wedding went off without a hitch. Okay, I did almost fall flat on my face when my new heels hit a brick on the walk down the aisle.

But really, it was perfect. The weather, the decorations, the food, the ceremony, the bride and groom’s infectious love. Perfect.

 

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Melissa’s Bridal Shower

by Jessi on June 13, 2013

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A few weeks after her bachelorette party, I hosted a bridal shower for my sister at my home. I wanted it to be pretty girly and spring-y (is that a word?) so I chose to use hot pink, red, black and white stripes for the invitations and the decor.

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 The back of the invitations were black and white striped. I bought several bunches of pink and white flowers and tied vases and jars with black and white ribbon.

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I used a few yards of black and white striped fabric from IKEA that I already owned as a table runner and picked up some inexpensive pink, red and striped paper plates, utensils and napkins at Target.

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Some of my aunts sent an edible arrangement that was so cute and delicious.

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And, of course, you can’t have a shower in the South without some petit fours.

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I don’t have a good picture of it, but I made a tassel garland out of pink and red tissue paper to hang in the kitchen,

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For the front door, I made a bunch of tissue flowers into a wreath and hung it with, you guessed it, black and white ribbon.

Here’s the beautiful bride-to-be showing it off.

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We also put pink and red balloons on the mailbox and I painted a quick little wooden sign for the flowers on the porch.

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When the guests arrived, everyone made a plate before we started the games.

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Now, I usually am right there with you if you rolled your eyes at the thought of ‘shower games,’ but I think I came up with two that were good ice breakers and pretty hilarious.

First, we played ‘He Says…She Says’ where the guests had to guess who had said each statement.

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Both of the moms won that one, surprise, surprise.

Next we played ‘The Newlywed Game.’ Jacob and I had pre-taped Ty’s responses to the questions and we played the video on the television in the living room while Melissa answered her questions. I wish I had some photos of this, because it was seriously too funny.

Then it was time to open gifts!

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Melissa got some really nice gifts and I know she’s excited to finally have a fully stocked kitchen.

Before we left we grabbed a few photos on the porch.

Melissa, bridesmaid Emily and myself.

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Melissa and me with our sweet momma.

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And with her new momma-in-law

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Ty’s family lives close by and most of our family is spread out around the country so it was nice to get to meet some of Melissa’s ‘new’ family members. bridal_shower-13
I’ll be back tomorrow with one last wedding post before the weekend, so get excited!

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Melissa’s Last Fling Before the Ring

by Jessi on June 11, 2013

Now that I’ve finally finished recapping our Switzerland trip, we can catch up on everything else that’s been going on in the Leonard household lately. If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you probably gathered that my little sister got married this past Saturday.

It was a beautiful day and everything was perfect. The bride and groom were glowing.

964983_10151693075696085_589660402_oFor now I’ll just share this little peek from my favorite photographers ever, the Beatys.

BUUUUUUUT that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Before you have a wedding, you have to have….

love,

trust,

A Bachelorette Party!

We decided to go gambling in Tunica, Mississippi, for Melissa’s bachelorette weekend. You should know by now that I love a good party theme, so I designed the invitations to reflect the casino destination.

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Obviously I had to decorate the car to achieve maximum bridal embarrassment.

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We booked a suite at the Gold Strike casino and arrived Saturday afternoon. Fun fact: Mississippi is one of only 6 states that serves free alcohol in casinos.

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I ordered bachelorette-themed petit fours and made custom labels for mini champagne bottles.

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We donned the bachelorette with a sash, veil, giant necklace and ‘Bride’ pin.

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Then it was time to open lingerie shower gifts.

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The gals.

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We had a fantastic dinner at a casino steakhouse and spent the rest of the night gambling and giggling.

In case you’re wondering, I am officially the world’s worst roulette player.

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It was a fun little getaway and I really enjoyed getting to know Melissa’s bridesmaids a little better.

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Celebrating Three Years of Marriage

June 5, 2013

Jacob and I have been married for three years today. We’re not big on elaborate gifts and our plans for the evening include shopping and sushi. That does not mean, however, that I take lightly this wonderful marriage I have with this wonderful man. There is something incredibly comforting in having a partner by your [...]

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Switzerland Day 7: Bern, the Capital City

June 4, 2013

On Friday, our last day in Switzerland, we rented a car and drove north to Bern, the capital. The weather had been beautiful all week, and as if getting ready to leave wasn’t depressing enough already, it was rainy and cold for our last adventure. We made the best of it with cheesy European radio [...]

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