The little things, part 1: Things we wore, things we carried

Our wedding day was not all about the little details-- it was about the big picture: our commitment to each other, the presence of our family and friends, the emotions of the day. I've said that before, right?

That said, there were of course plenty of details that we put thought into.  Here's a bit about the ones that got photographed and the thought behind them.

My jewelry. The blue pin on the left belonged to my grandmother Helen. I was going to pin it inside my dress, but I chickened out-- I was afraid it would fall out, or get snagged on the dress, or befall some unknown disaster. The amethyst ring belonged to my grandmother Mary. Amethyst was our shared birthstone, and she gave the ring to me on my 16th birthday. I was going to tie it to my bouquet, but I chickened out on that too-- I would be devastated if I somehow lost that ring, so I left it at home.

The bracelet and earrings were made by Etsy seller Handwired- they matched my dress perfectly. (I also had hairpins that matched the earrings and bracelet, which I forgot at home in Massachusetts. Bummer, but no big deal.) My friend Jen wore the earrings on her wedding day a few weeks later. I've put them away in a box with a note listing my name and Jen's, and our wedding dates. Hopefully we'll continue to add names of family and friends to the list of ladies who wore those earrings on their wedding day.
 

I bought these typewriter key cuff links from Etsy seller The Empty Nest for Patrick last Valentine's Day. He bought a set of links for each of his groomsmen. Apparently they enjoyed them:


My bouquet was wrapped in lace taken from my mom's wedding dress.
 
The photos tied to the bouquet are wedding photos of my grandmother and Pat's grandmother. When we started planning, we expected to have our grandmothers with us at our wedding. As most of you know, we each lost a grandmother over the summer. Dear sweet Jen had these pendants made for me, and it was so special to have a symbol of their presence that day.

I bought each bridesmaid a pendant with her initial on it from Etsy seller Funky Time Art. The back of each one had a different word and definition: Love, thoughtful, joyful, sweet, friend. Each pendant came with a chain so that they could wear it later as a necklace if they wanted.  (The flowers were pinker and more green than I thought they'd be-- I was expecting more ivory and very pale pink. Another example of not being able to control every little thing. Even with the pink and green, the flowers were very pretty-- the big open ivory roses were my favorite.)