Have y’all noticed that donuts seem to be everywhere at weddings these days? Part of me is happy about this (because I love donuts) and part of me is sad (because now if I include them in our wedding, maybe I’ll feel like I’m just jumping on the bandwagon). Either way, I thought I’d share some of my favorite donut wedding inspiration for you this fine morning :)
Anyone who has read this blog for a few months should know that I am always on the hunt for swiss dot. I love the stuff, particularly in wedding gowns. It seems others are catching on to my addiction, so I thought I’d post a few of my favorites here.
Currently, two bridal lines account for most of the swiss dot options, and each of those lines has a more famous design. The first is Melissa Sweet’s “Dora,” photographed here by Jasmine Star.
This lovely bride, photography by Sloan Photographers, is also wearing the “Dora.” See more from this wedding here!
I love that this shot of the Dora shows off the pretty detailing along the bust. So gorgeous! Photo by Orchard Cove. See more here! Melissa Sweet has one other design that features swiss dot, the “Gigi.”
The other swiss dot line is Christos. My favorite of the bunch is the “Maribel”. Here’s a bride that chose Miss Maribel, photographed by Jen Curtis:
Christos also carries the “Lydia”, the “Zinnia”, and the “Desiree”, all of which are dotted numbers.
For those interested in a short dress, I have to recommend the “Elope” dress by Sarah Seven. At $755, it’s not cheap, but it’s also considerably less than some other options out there.
If you’re interested in accenting your look with a dotted accessory, I’ve got inspiration for you, too! I love this shot from Jonathan Canlas:
I could be mistaken, but I think she’s wearing the “Dotted Voile Veil” from BHLDN.
I also love this adorable yet stylish bow comb from BHLDN:
I love fresh flowers with the best of them, but live blooms aren’t always in the budget. Which should explain why when I cracked open my copy of Martha’s April issue, I didn’t even finish the book before busting out the supplies to try my hand at her paper dogwood flowers. I also love the original version of this Good Thing, a paper cherry blossom display that first appeared in April 2006.
I must say, I’m pretty happy with how my version turned out! Here’s Martha’s:
And here’s mine:
What do you think?
I pretty much followed Martha’s directions (which you can find here), with just a few tweaks: I didn’t see the need to buy a “starburst” stamp, so I used the eraser of a fresh pencil for all of the stamps instead of just for the middles. I also subbed in a thick green marker in place of a stamp pad. If I were to do this project over again, I think I would make the blooms a bit smaller than the 5 inches she suggests — or at least have some larger and some smaller flowers.
Writing about your own generosity is a tricky thing, isn’t it?
On the one hand, there’s the very real fear that you’ll come across as prideful, a show-off. Or that you’ll needlessly make others feel bad about their efforts – which might represent a real sacrifice – or feel shame about the gap between your generosity and theirs.
So why risk it?
Of course, there’s also this, just one chapter later – also from the mouth of Jesus:
Giving in public = bad? Giving in secret = good? If only it were so easy :) The Christian faith is not interested in being simple; it’s interested in being true. In the end, the motivation of the heart is what categorizes the same act as either a treasure or a disgrace in the eyes of God, which can make it confusing to know when to share. However – as long as I can feel reasonably confident that I’m sharing to reflect the light and love of God and not to be praised by men blog readers, I want to do so.
Also, we hear a lot about Christians behaving badly. But there are many, many, many more stories of light that go untold – stories of quiet, unsung acts of selflessness, compassion, and generosity. We need those stories, too, to remind us about the beauty, grace, and truth of a life spent imitating Jesus (imperfectly, always, but earnestly, too).
Finally, on a practical note, I like hearing about the positive things others are doing! It inspires me to be better, to do more, to stretch my conception of what I think I’m capable of and comfortable with – and it gives me ideas for how to do so! It reminds me that people everywhere are doing their best to make people feel loved and the world a better place. It buoys my hope and optimism about my fellow man and the world we inhabit together.
So — with that lengthy introduction, I submit to you three ways we’re trying to live generously this Christmas season – written with humility and love!
We’re giving generously to our kids’ teachers.
Currently, Annie and Shep each have two preschool teachers, while June has her second-grade teacher, her math teacher, and a student teacher. In past years, we have given physical gifts to preschool teachers, like fresh wreaths, snap totes, and Cultivate goodies. I love all of these ideas and may return to them!
This year and last, however, we’ve moved to giving gift cards (accompanied by handwritten notes). Last year we gave each preschool teacher a $15 gift card to a local ice cream shop. This year, we’re giving them $50 gift cards to a local gift shop I love, and the director (who is also a teacher in Shep’s classroom) a $100 gift card to our favorite local restaurant. It’s been a challenging year in their school, and we want her and her husband to enjoy a fun dinner out.
For June’s main teacher, we’ll do a $75* gift card to either a local garden store or the same local restaurant – I haven’t decided yet! (I always try to choose based on their hobbies – last year, we gave her first-grade teacher, an avid runner, a gift card to Fleet Feet.)
*I had planned to do $100, the same as our preschool director, but our district put a $75 cap on gifts this year.
For her math teacher, we chose a 3-month subscription to the Book of the Month Club, and her student teacher will get a Cultivate tumbler stuffed with crinkle paper and a $50 coffee shop gift card.
Again: I include the dollar amounts not to show off (blerg), but to gently encourage. Last year, $15 for five preschool teachers felt like a stretch. My understanding is that even the smallest gift card is appreciated, and if $5 per teacher is what’s possible, it will be gratefully received.
This year, we can do more, so we are. When I think about what it would cost to send our three children to private school (I did the math right here), $100 per teacher feels like a drop in the bucket. Excellent teachers are the lifeblood of our schools and I’ll do almost anything to help them feel appreciated.
We’re giving generously to our pastor.
Moving on to our next category of challenging jobs :) Full-time ministry – whew! It is not for the faint of heart, for the pastor or for his or her family. They (joyfully!) sacrifice so much for the people in their care, and last year, John and I felt compelled to share one of our very favorite traditions with our pastor and his wife.
We wrote them a note explaining our end-of-year celebration dinner – what it is and what it has meant to our relationship over the last many years – and included a $100 gift card to a local restaurant in the envelope. We wanted to make it easy for them to start their own tradition, if they wanted to. We’ll do the same thing this year. Sowing into their marriage feels like sowing directly into God’s Kingdom, and we’re grateful to do it.
We’re giving generously to our garbage and recycling guys.
This is one I come by honestly – it’s straight from the brain of my mom :) Growing up, she’d always leave a Subway gift card and bag of peanut butter balls on top of our trash and recycling cans in December, and honestly, I thought it was weird – ha!
But I also just thought it was normal, and sure enough, when we moved into our own home a decade ago, I taped a colorful (eye-catching!) thank you note, a Jersey Mike’s gift card (we usually do $20 – enough for two guys in each truck), and a bag of peanut butter balls to the top of each can one Wednesday in December. I can only hope my children will think this is weird and then grow up to do the same thing, too.
Of course, I’d love to hear: big or small, how are you being generous this season? This group always has the best ideas.
