The Weddings That Weren't

So before Mr. Octopus and I were "officially" engaged, I, ahem, occasionally partook in a bit of pre-planning. I didn't come to any major decisions--no purchases, no deposits, nothing irreversible--but I did indulge in a fair bit of the fun, fluffy stuff. I looked at flowers, thought about colors, researched photographers and venues. Because of that, I was becoming more and more certain, convinced, absolutely positive, that I knew exactly what I wanted for the look and feel of our wedding to be. Once the planning really got underway, it was going to be smoooooth sailing!

Sigh.

Now that a lot of the big decisions have been made and the little-detail-planning is the name of the game, I'd say my ideas for the general aesthetic of the wedding have gone through two distinct transformations before landing where they are now (which is the final version, fo realz!). Wanna see the weddings I'm not having?

Wedding #1

Phipps Conservatory, botanical drawing, invitations, cake, bouquet.

My first idea was based on a venue in Pittsburgh that I love: Phipps Conservatory. It's the stunning building pictured on this board, and it's a big, fabulous garden center. When I was really hoping to land this place, my ideas revolved around, obviously, a garden theme. Sage green, cream, gold, dark pink....botanical illustrations....little twinkly lights and candles.....this plan was cut tragically short when I learned that Phipps's rental fee was substantially more than we were able to pay.

Wedding #2

Hogwarts-y hall, book centerpieces, quill, book invitations, calligraphy invites.

When the garden plan was scrapped, my next concept was kind of a "cozied up in an old library" idea. I tossed around ideas like stacked antique books under the centerpieces, calligraphy, a vintage typewriter for a guestbook. I would look at pictures like these and think, yes! The library at Hogwarts! Edgar Allen Poe! Leather! Dark wood! Fantastic!

Two problems here: one, I couldn't find a venue that would blend with a theme like that. Two, while spending an evening of celebration holed up in a library for six hours sounds absolutely perfect to an EPIC NERD like myself, the inescapable fact is that libraries are kind of....solemn. Quiet. "Victor Hugo scribbling on parchment by candlelight," which is, I swear to you, a phase that actually ran through my mind several times, does not exactly scream "festive." Or "party." Or "Mr. Octopus," at all.

At that point, I had to have a bit of a talk with myself. I realized I was getting way too invested in having a distinct and identifiable theme and motif in my wedding, and it was holding me back, not helping me. While I knew that having colors and a style in mind was helpful in choosing flowers, invitations, and other details, I was too wrapped up in it. I was losing sight of the fact that I am getting married, not set-designing a local theater production.

Next, I'll show you the final direction our wedding is going.

Did you have a hard time deciding how you wanted your wedding to look? How did you ultimately make the decision?