Journey to the Altar: Brooch Bouquet... Officially Official.

Ever since seeing one in US I have wanted to do this, once I investigated I realized that this is becoming more and more popular. Also its a) time consuming b) not cheap c) time consuming. I was hesitant to take this one, knowing the other projects I also wanted to do, however, I wasn't thinking about my super crafty amazing fiance.

This is a project right up his alley, it involves scouring for old things (aka playing american pickers), it lets him make something with his hands, it's tedious and, when it's done, it will be a show stopper. He's been the biggest supporter of this idea, and he might be more excited about it then I am. Because this is a labor of love, and adds to the budget a bit there will have to be some sacrifices, but I think, since this will become an heirloom, that it will be worth it.

So far after our first day of hunting we found about 79 pieces. We lucked out with a bunch of amazing earrings which really buffed up that number. We spent a large part of the afternoon on Vintage Row on 4th street, but the real winner was an antique shop named Grandma's Darlings. That place is insane, Will and I literally got lost. We were separated, and couldn't find each other, and then I had to grab a manager to grab pieces for us, and couldn't remember where we were suppose to go. The owners loved us so much they ended up discounting one of the more expensive pieces and then let us pick out of their personal collection and donated it!

Knowing that we hand picked every single piece is such a feeling. The experience and memories of this process makes me break out into goosebumps. This really is something that I get to have for the rest of my life. I can't wait for our future children to hear about this story.

Since we have all our big pieces now we really need some filler pieces, which is where Ebay comes into play. They say that you need between 60-80 for the bride's bouquet, and Will and I think about 3-4 per bout. (and come to think of it the moms should probably have some as well...) This is where we are stuck. Do the BMs and GM/L get full ones, or do we mix the flowers and the brooches, and how much more $$ is it either way? I think the families should have a mix. Which means our 79, while impressive... isn't going to cut it. Luckily ebay has huge lots of costume/vintage jewelry so even though there are 50+ pieces, and you maybe only like 4 or 5... you only pay $5 for the lot, and you can't see everything in the pictures so maybe there are hidden gems. There's ways to make this work, we just need to determine our level of commitment to this.

Anyhoo, enough ranting, ready for some pictures?!?!?