It's my {blog} birthday!

Today Wide Open Spaces is celebrating its first birthday.  Yep, a year ago today I stepped into these mysterious waters, utterly ignorant to what I was getting into.  I still fell pretty clueless but am awed and amazed at just how much this little side project has grown.  Initially, this blog was a way to get my mind off of the long wait with our adoption and also to have a creative outlet to add some beauty to my life when it felt lacking just that.  It has turned into so much more.  How can I thank you enough for making this far more fun then I could have hoped?

So here we are. 1 year, 537 posts later, well over 1,000 subscribers and many more who stop by to visit each day.  Thank you! 

Should you want to offer a birthday gift here are some ideas...

Subscribe - add Wide Open Spaces to your reader

Share - email WOS' link to your your friends, tweet or post about us, or add WOS to your sidebar.  If you like what you see here, please help it grow by sharing!

Check Out The Archives - there is so much great content that you have probably never seen before.  Check out the months from before we found each other in my sidebar - see what you missed!

Leave Comments - You guys are a pretty quiet bunch.  I have blessed to have so many visitors but typically only hear from a few of you.  I would love to hear your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree with my own.  Comments truly are the fuel of a blog.  It is my only way to get to know my readers and my only way to gauge what material resonates and what does not.  I love to hear your thoughts!  Today I would particularly love to hear what you would like to see more of in the coming year.  Is there a particular genre that keeps you coming back for more?

Thank you so much, Dear Readers.  I'm hoping this coming year far exceeds your expectations!

xo - Emily

{image by Fraley Tera}

Summer Ellis Bijouterie: a giveaway!

I am loving the fall collection by jewelry designer Summer Ellis.  Her delicate pieces are a mix of vintage, glam and earthy elements.  And her bridal collection...oh, to be getting married again.  I would definitely be wearing the gold on gold Opera Pearl Necklace.  Gorgeous. 

Summer is generously offering all of my readers a 10% off discount with the code special10.  She is also donating the adorable blossom earrings above for giveaway.  {These would make such a great little Christmas gift or stocking stuffer at only $22.50 with the discount code.} 

Just visit her shop and let me know your favorite item and you are entered to win these earrings.  Twitter or blog about the giveaway, come back and let me know in a comment, and you entered for a second time.  I'll announce a winner next Tuesday.  Good luck!

Here are some more of my favorites:

Check back tomorrow for Summer's list of 10 things that make her happy.  Thanks Summer!

Our Union by Hafiz

I am in love with every detail of Joanna & Alex's wedding but it was this reading from their ceremony that I can't get out of my head:

Our union is like this:

You feel cold, so I reach for a blanket to cover our shivering feet.
A hunger comes into your body, so I run to my garden and start digging potatoes.
You asked for a few words of comfort and guidance, and I quickly kneel by your side offering you a whole book as a gift.
You ache with loneliness one night so much you weep, and I say here is a rope, tie it around me, I will be your companion for life.

{photo of Alex & Joanna by Max Wanger}

Mexican paper flags

I have always had a thing for Mexican paper flags but it was just after a little recent exploration that I came to find out that these little flags are quite event specific as seen through all of their beautiful intricacies. {those shown below, for example, are for a wedding, spring & valentine's day}  I have typically seen these in the multicolor variety but there are also plenty of single tone garlands as well.  All of the flags that I have pictured below are available here.

I made this collage of the flags and then fell so in love with it that I am considering having a large print made and framing it in our house.  It's just so...happy.

{top image from Martha Stewart Weddings}

black accented wedding details

I just came across these really lovely wedding invites by super talented Libby who illustrated and printed these by hand for her upcoming wedding. I love all the detailing and how the white and cream come off as subtle and romantic.

They remind me of a post that I just saved from Delight by Design about weddings with black detailing.  I have to say, I have never been a fan of black as a wedding color.  Until now...

It's love.

anniversary

Today is Sean & my seven year anniversary.  As I was looking through a stack of perfectly styled wedding photos I came across this one.  It's from our rehearsal dinner, the night before we became one.  What is so striking to me about this photo is how perfectly it embodies our marriage.  We didn't live together before we were married and unlike the current popular trend, we didn't consummate our marriage until after it was official.  And yet that naive couple there is so eerily similar to us, seven years wiser, that is leaves me quiet and startled.  (Here in the photo, we are already present at our rehearsal dinner and Sean is helping me put an earring in.  So typical of us both.)

Life often feels too difficult to navigate alone.  When times are good we long for someone to share the view with.  When times are hard, someone to help us up, dust us off and make us presentable.  In Sean, God sent me a helper.  Someone to sojourn this tricky course of life with. He has been my faithful companion. Near, every step of the way.  

Beloved - I can't see far up ahead, but I have the sense that something really lovely is just beyond the horizon.  Lets go find it together, shall we?

family reunion

My mother was going for a nostalgia feel.  It was a family reunion, after all.  So daily vintage tablecloths were arriving at the door, all courtesy of ebay.  For food, she went with fried chicken and spiral cut ham.  There was baked macaroni & cheese,  bacon & cheddar deviled eggs, dipped strawberries, carmel apple pie & strawberry short cake.  Oh, and root beer floats.  

We had a watermelon-seed spitting contest and there was some races and baseball on the back lawn.  

More than anything else, there were hours spent with the people that we love and haven't had good time with in years.  These kids that I grew up with, now have children of their own.  And we had the ridiculous joy of getting to see them run about just as we did so many years before.

It was nostalgic, yes.  Tablecloths or none.  

And it was the perfect way to end our month in Chicago - (though my heart is breaking a little bit today.)

{all photos by me}

Truefitt & Hill

I have been trying to come up with a good Father's Day for Sean and was reminded of a little spot that we had checked out back when we were considering getting married in Chicago.  Located at 900 North Michigan, tucked away high-up and to the back, is the U.S. outpost of the world's oldest barbershop.  Not just that, but Truefitt & Hill has also been staffed as the court barber to the British Royal Family. 

Our thought at the time was to send our groomsmen there on the morning of the wedding for a nice hot lather shave and a trim.  The male version of a spa day.  We never did any of this as we didn't marry in Chicago but it could make for a great Father's Day gift.   The "Duke of Edinburgh" package includes a hot lather shave, a half hour stress relief massage, a haircut, manicure & shoeshine.  And all of it in restrained, royal style, I'm sure.

orange party

For me, with each new season comes the inevitable desire to throw a seasonal party.  Few of these events actually ever occur but I love to plan them nonetheless.  Currently it's an "orange party" that I can't get off my mind.  It's a casual, outdoor, summery brunch.

The menu would be:  Orange Julius' (these were pretty much the starting point of the party) & Mimosas, Marmalade stuffed french toast with Orange Syrup, Grilled Peaches with Mint, and Mandarin Salad.  (I'd try to make the orangey accents in the dishes subtle as to not cause orange overkill.)

 

As a parting gift my guest would receive Orangettes & Orange Blossom Water.

Oh, and I'd be wearing this:

{images: canopy party, drink bar, orange votive holders, daisy tray,  straws, baostar's cupcakes, use real butter's orangettes, orange blossom water, dress}

country wedding inspiration

I am drooling over these photos from a most fantastic wedding-themed photo shoot by Tec Petaja. In my world this is utter perfection.  I love how all of the sweet detailing comes off as both vintage & modern.

You can find a lot more photos from this shoot here.  Spotted here.

Happy Birthday Sweet Oliver!

Today is my little man's birthday.  He's three.  Oh, and he's perfect.  Even his stinky attitude is pretty scrumptious. One of my favorite Oliver memories of this past year was just before this photo was taken. He came downstairs wearing a diaper, a dirty shirt, a Mexican straw hat, and his sister's Hello Kitty striped sunglasses - to which she exclaimed - "Oh Oliver!  You look like eleven bucks!"

She meant it as a compliment as she intended to say that he looked like a million bucks.  But as you can see, he did look an awful lot like 11 bucks. 

We celebrated this third birthday with tacos & a batman cake.  

A scooter, a bike, a backhoe, & a small working wind turbine (!) were all showered upon Mr. Oliver Everett by Grandmas & Grandpas alike.  

And of course lots of balloons with prayers & blessings scrawled across them were released up to heaven.

Man, am I grateful for this little boy.  

the reception

For the reception we were going for "intimate dinner party" not "wedding reception" so we tried to banish as many of the wedding traditions (that meant nothing to us) as possible.  No cutting the cake, no tossing bouquets or garters, no guest book and definitely no receiving line.  

The spot where we had the wedding housed many little rooms rather then one large room so guests dined at long tables in smaller rooms throughout the property. Each room was named for a location where we almost had the wedding.  Dinner was served family style at every table.  Sean & I barely had a bite to eat, we were just too excited.  We sipped splits of champagne and nibbled on the sugared fruit centerpieces. (Oh my goodness, they were amazing.  The centerpieces may have been the tastiest thing there.)  

Sean & I started off the dancing with Come What May from Moulin Rouge.  In advance we had insisted that our friend join us out there midway through the song, as we are not big "first dance" people.  Once the dancing was in full swing we were off to chat and drink and mingle and dip our toes in the pool.  We quietly slipped away around midnight and let the party rage on without us.  

{And this concludes wedding week here at wide open spaces.  Thanks so much for humoring me with this little trip down memory lane. xoxo}

Oh, and we were so honored for our wedding to appear in the Knot's Real Weddings magazine.  

You can read the article here.

the vows

Sean to me:

"Em, I lay down my independence and the claims I have on myself so that you can take full possession of all that I am.  From this day until my last, I belong to you; never to be my own or any others.

As your husband, I will lead us, by the Spirit, in walking intimately with Jesus, serving Him and walking humbly before Him all of our days.  And I promise to provide for your needs, to defend and protect you; to stand up for and stand by you all my days.

As your lover, I give my body and my love unconditionally, unreservedly, and unashamedly to you.  And I promise to warm you when you are cold, to hold you gently, to kiss you passionately, and to speak kindly to you all my days.

As your friend, I will be loyal and trustworthy, making myself a safe place for you.  I will be transparent and honest, letting nothing put distance between us.  And I promise to do lots of fun things with you, to travel the world with you as much as possible, and to run this race with you for all my days.

Together with God, let’s be dreamers and let our dreams collide and become one.  Then, let’s live to pursue that dream together.

Emily Paige, I will and I choose to love you until my dying day."

Me to Sean:

"I choose you,  Sean, to be my lifelong lover.  To walk this earth with, not differentiating  work from play, and adding it all as worship unto our King. 

It is in this place that I offer you my life to bind together with your own.  For tonight I give myself to you - fully - without condition or reservation.  All that I am and all that I have is yours.  I will never take it back.

Tonight I accept your hand, your love, and your name as my own.  I receive you as God's perfect gift to me.  By His grace I will never take this gift for granted.

For our God has fashioned me perfectly to serve as your helper, lover, comforter & friend.  Therefore, I vow to ever love Him first that I might love you well. 

I submit myself to you now as unto the Lord Himself, yielding to His shielding sovereignty in our lives.  In that, I choose always to believe your words, trust your actions, and know your love. 

Sean, I want to be hand and hand with you in the days when you are healthy and wealthy and things are going your way.  But nearer to you still when you are sick or sad or poor.

The Lord has assigned you, Sean, for my portion and my cup.  I take you tonight as my husband, securing my lot.  Clearly the boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.  I couldn't be more thrilled with my inheritance.  "

{ketubah by Tawny Cooper, calligraphy by Rebecca Trawick}

the ceremony

Our ceremony took place at a little wooded spot marked only by a stone bench. We had chairs set up for all of our guests and once they were seated, our friends James Mark & Juleigh began to sing The Promise by Tracy Chapman. As they sang, friends walked down a pathway and begin to "set up" for the ceremony.  First a friend of ours, raised up a wreath to set the spot under which we would say our vows.  Next two people carried down lanterns just as the sky was turning darker. Then a small embroidered blanket for the bench was unfolded and laid out.  Next, the communion bread (baked by our friend John) and the wine were set up on a table.  Next, The Ketubah & pen were set down.  The stage was set.

The I started walking down a path, my parents at either side of me.  At the same time, Sean began to walk down the opposite path, his parents both at his side - much in a typical Jewish fashion.  We all met in the middle, hugged & greeted our guests.  From there we worshiped God and then Sean & I took a seat on the bench, kicked off our shoes and enjoyed the rest of the ceremony.  My brother, a pastor, preached it.  Close friends got up and read readings of their choosing and that Sean & I got to enjoy for the first time at the ceremony.  Everyone passed the bread and the wine goblets that were engraved to mark the day.  Then Sean and I said our vows and kissed.  Our friends and family laid hands on us and prayed and it was finished.  And all that we'd hoped it would be.  

the Hotel San Jose

So, we didn't get our destination wedding.  But we did ended up having a great wedding weekend with everyone we love.  Though we didn't set out for it to be like this - Sean's family and all of their friends were camped out at one hotel. My family and our family friends were camped out at another.  And Sean and I, with all of our friends - took up residence at the Hotel San Jose.  Ummm...that just worked out really well.  Everyone was getting to spend lots of time with the people that they really want to.  And had we known how great the San Jose would turn out to be, we might have planned our wedding in Austin around that instead.  It is just the perfect laid-back cool place to unwind before the big day. It's also so small that everyone was just walking around from room to room like we owned the place - not a bad fantasy to get to entertain the weekend of your wedding. 

{room service photo by Karin_and_Bruce}

the wedding attire

I believe that nearly anything  "bridal" related is overpriced.  It's as if they think that brides have lost their minds and are willing to pay too much for things that are typically poorer in quality.  I specifically thinking bridesmaid dresses here, but this can apply in far more areas.  Any was that you can circumvent the "bridal boutiques" is step one in not getting ripped off.  If I was looking for cute bridesmaid dresses I would be looking at J.Crew, Anne Taylor or Banana Republic. These are all good places for pretty basic dresses that are well made and often times less expensive then their bridal counterpart.  And your friends actually might wear these again. 

We didn't really have a wedding party, per se, but for practical purposes I'll call them that here.  We asked all the guys to wear brown dress pants and a button down (white, blue, or pink).  We gave all the guys oxford stripe ties from Banana Republic.  We asked the girls to wear cocktail dresses in red, pink and/or brown. So, that was really simple and it avoided the "wedding-y" look that I was trying to avoid.  I know, I know - it was a wedding.  Again, I have issues.  

We went and picked out a nice brown suit for Sean from Men's Warehouse.  We really liked the suit but the pants had pleats.  I don't need to talk to you people about pleats do I, cause that would have to be a whole separate post.  So we spent a looong time talking the man at the store into having the pants altered to remove the pleats (Yes, they can do this.)  Great price, great suit, hard work talking the men at Men's Warehouse out of pleats.  We found Sean a great tie that corresponded with the other guys ties, but didn't match. 

I found a dress pattern for my "flower girls" and had their dresses made by a local seamstress. Including the price of all the shantung silk for their dresses I still think they cost less than half of what a similar flower girls dress costs in a bridal store.  And I was able to hand pick the fabric and colors. 

That was it.  

Pretty.  Easy.  Pretty Easy.

details

Some details from our day-

 Cigars in the mens room.

Our "flowers girls" passed out rosemary wreath boutonnieres to all of the men and ranacula wristlets to all of the women.

Sandalwood fans on the women's seats

Rose petal laden wishing well.

misc. wedding paper

These were our rehearsal dinner invites - letterpress coasters from Snow & Graham.

We set matchbooks beside boxes of Swisher Sweets in the mens room.  (Sexist, I know.)

We had lots of little signs made that led to the ceremony site and then were scattered about at the wedding. All of our calligraphy was done by Rebecca Trawick of Bluebird Studios. 

Labels for the water bottles are from my own labels.

 

Each of our guests signed our Ketubah as legal witnesses.  Tawny painted the Ketubah and our vows were written out by Rebecca at Bluebird Studios. 

the invitation

 

We though these were kind of funny as Sean Was living in the coach house of my house at the time of our wedding.  We liked these as proof that we kind of had different addresses. 

This was our invitation.  The top was open so the entire thing was like a pocket - all the inserts went inside.  

Front side of our RSVP

Back side of our RSVP.  We invited our guests to wear red, brown and/or pink and to tell us a song that they would like to hear at the reception. 

Tawny painted these portraits for the front & back covers of a little book that we made & included in the invitation.  

{invitations by Wedding Tulle}

the program

I love all things paper and a wedding allows for lots of paper goods so that was one of those most fun parts of wedding planning for me.  

Sadly, this is the only program that I have left over from our wedding.  This sad, ripped, wax-seal busted copy.  But you get the gist.  I did these myself, had them professionally printed & cut, and we had a wax sealing party with friends. We were happy with how they turned out.  (Had I known how popular P22 Cezanne would ended up being I probably would have chosen another font)