the evolution of tabletops, part 1

because i'm a closet gamer... and it's too cute

so... i like to think of myself as a creative chick. i like doing all the arts and crafts and that sort of deal. BUT i also really wanted a high-end look for our wedding. a lot of friends have gotten married in recent years and i didn't want our wedding to just blend in with theirs, and i knew i really didn't want fake flowers or a little round mirror with rose petals and ikea tealights (no offense if this is what you're doing! it's just not very... us).

knowing that we would have a limited budget (i'm in grad school, Mr. Ramen just finished school...), i thought to myself, OH! paper lanterns and tons of candles!!!! very simple, chic, and inexpensive!


unfortunately, this crazy girl and her wonderful man had fallen deeply, madly in love with art galleries. art galleries + open flame = BAD IDEA! - not to mention not allowed. so we decided to scratch the candle idea and get our dream venue, PAM (the phoenix art museum!) instead. we told ourselves that with all of the art and beautiful architecture, we could get away with minimal centerpieces.

the paper lanterns we wanted to string across the ceiling were nixed (nothing can be hung up on the walls! or ceilings!). and when we visited PAM again, we saw that the Cummings Great Hall where our reception would be held, had VERY minimal color on the walls. we then realized we needed to come up with modern, affordable, and super luxe looking centerpieces. luxe because that's how we roll, and cheap because we po'! PLUS, i mean, we're spending a verrrrry pretty penny on our photographers, and you can't have some crappy centerpieces in PAM! we debated uplighting/lighting, to spice things up... and realized that since NO ONE is going to care about/notice the lighting (although it would be nice....), we'd rather "splurge" on the centerpieces.

so i began the long and tedious process of trying to find a florist that i really liked and felt could carry out my requests for flowers/centerpieces.... it was crazy to me to find out that the average centerpiece price would cost me $30-75. and i wasn't even interested in huge massive flower arrangements.... i realllllllllllllly wanted to avoid going the DIY route, not because i'm not crafty, BUT because i didn't want the stress on/around/before the wedding.... but things don't always go the way that we've planned.....

did your wedding plans seem to change frequently?