{Click to enlarge!}

Isn’t this the most lovely shade of green? I’m picturing a little wedding garden party, with just a few family and friends under the new leaves in the first few weeks of spring. A small guest list gives you the latitude to whip up some neat details, like cucumber sandwiches that double as art, custom boxes of popcorn, a short, embellished white dress, and a perfectly crosshatched cake (sized for a small soiree, of course).

The Details
First: dress photo by Belathee via Once Wed, ribbon belt placecard holder from Martha Stewart Weddings, green heels photo by Michele M. Waite

Second: clematis centerpieces from MSW, reception photo by Lisa Lefkowitz (styled by Alison Hotchkiss) via Style Me Pretty, cake from Real Simple

Third: cucumber sandwiches from Martha Stewart Weddings, invitation from Minted, popcorn boxes by Amy Atlas

{c/o Elizabeth Messina}

A garden between low walls, bright,
made of dry grass and a light that slowly bakes
the ground below. The light smells of sea.
You breathe that grass. You touch your hair
and shake out the memory of grass.

I have seen ripe
fruit dropping thickly on remembered grass with a soft
thudding. So too the pulsing of the blood
surprises even you. You move your head
as though a miracle of air had happened around you,
and the miracle is you. Your eyes have a savor
like the heat of memory.

You listen.
You listen to the words, but they barely graze you.
Your face has a radiance of thought that shines
around your shoulders, like light from the sea. The silence
in your face touches the heart with a soft
thud, exuding drop by drop,
like fruit that fell here years ago,
an old pain, still.

–Cesare Pavese

(Thanks, Meghan, for reminding me about Poem Fridays! I hope you like this one.)

When we were in the Harbor over the Fourth of July weekend, my Mom, sister, and cousins and I stopped into Casual Interiors, a new-to-me shop (not sure how long it’s been in business). Very cute stuff and a nicely curated selection. I’ll admit I really wanted to pick up that bushel of Dash & Albert rugs and take off running…

Casual Interiors
20 McKown Street
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
207-633-4273

One of the tasks I’ve recently knocked off the list? Welcome bag hang tags. We’ll be assembling between 25-40 of these puppies the week of the wedding, so keeping things simple is of the utmost importance. What will they contain? A water bottle or two, a snack of some sort, a few pieces of salt water taffy, directions to spots around town, a hand-drawn map of the area (thanks, Wanda!), and a reminder card with a rundown of the weekend’s events.

The bags are simple brown paper lunch bags, the ribbon is from Paper Mart, and the tags were designed in Publisher then printed, cut, punched, and strung by me.

P.S. Jack the cat approves.