Wedding Bouquet Ornament

If you are anything like me, you have your wedding bouquet that you saved - but what do you do with it now?

My bouquet was daisies which don't dry well. I did dry my bouquet but it still just looked like sad lump of old flowers.

I will admit I saw this on pinterest. It wasn't an original idea but I did my own little accents.

So, I bought this plastic ornament at Walmart - all $.97! Popped off the lid and put in my petals. Then, I decided that it needed a little more something. I still had some ribbon from the wedding. The black ribbon with the white dots was from the vases at the reception. And, the pink ribbon was from the wedding favors. This is a neat way to preserve the ribbon too!

Yes, this is our third married Christmas but, better late than never!

Celebrating Year One

In case you didn't notice our lives have been super busy lately. Top It Off's grand opening was scheduled for our anniversary weekend and Tyler wasn't able to get off work as they finished off the fiscal year so, with an anniversary trip planned for later in the year, we took our anniversary for a romantic date night.

We spent the day together hanging out and did a little shopping. We even watched our wedding video!

We took this quick picture before we headed out to dinner at Porter's Steakhouse.


We came home to check out to the top tier of our wedding cake. I wasn't so sure what it was going to taste like.

We were so full from our wonderful dinner that we only ate a little piece of cake.



Tyler thought the cake tasted ok....

I wasn't so sure about it.

Now you all are wondering what year old cake tastes like... well.. the funny thing is that neither one of us could remember what the cake tasted like because we only ate one bite the day of the wedding. We just hope that it was better a year ago!

Tyler also brought me pink gerbera daisies in honor of our wedding flowers. I was so impressed.
We ended the night was dancing to our song - My Girl by The Temptations - our first dance song.

All in all it was a wonderful day!

Couple bonds over love of Tennessee

As some of you may know, Tyler and I were featured in the Tennessean on Sunday as the feature wedding story. It was a great story and we were very impressed! In fact, read it yourself!

"Tyler Scott Forrest's love of the state is impressive. A native of Athens, Tenn., he is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to serve as the student trustee of the University of Tennessee. In fact, the 22-year-old has every intention of running for governor of Tennessee himself some day. But every leader needs a strong woman by his side and Tyler is no different.

He knew he had met his perfect match in Emily Christine Martin, now 23, when they started running in the same circles on campus. A senior to his junior, she began to notice him as well, due in no small part to a certain accessory.

"I actually used to call him the bowtie guy since he was one of the few students around campus who would wear bowties," she says. It was that extra something that made her notice him everywhere she went. And she started seeing him around … a lot.

"We literally ran into each other everywhere we went, which became a running joke because Emily thought I was even stalking her," Tyler says. "It was almost like it was meant to be."

Once she knew he wasn't a stalker, she realized he was extremely well-liked, something else that appealed to Emily. She was also drawn to his loyalty to family and home.

"We both come from deep-rooted Tennessee families and have a true spirit and passion for the state," Emily says.

They became close friends and then more as they immersed themselves in the university. He was the vice president of the student body, then president. She worked for four years in the UTC Chancellor's office.

"Tyler was very dedicated to the university and that was something I could see was a true passion of his," she says of the qualities that drew her in. "He is very future oriented and strives to do well. I am very much a planner so the fact he plans for the future was very appealing to me."

He felt the same way about her and her driven personality — perfect for someone with political aspirations.

"I was always looking for that perfect girl and when Emily came along, I was just taken aback," he says. "I knew she was the best I could possibly find. She really is talented in so many areas and has a great personality and so many people think highly of her."

Realizing he had a gem, he wasted no time in proposing. Just seven months after they began dating, he popped the question.

"A lot of people thought I was totally crazy, including me sometimes," Tyler says. "But once you know you have found the right person, why stop there? It was the right time in our lives and we were committed to getting married."

He proposed to Emily the night before she graduated, knowing she wouldn't expect it at all considering he had made it clear she would have to get that diploma before he would ask her to marry him. He needed the element of surprise behind him or she might have figured it out. The previous Valentine's Day, she called restaurants all over town until she found out where he was taking her for dinner.

"He knew my family would be there the next day and we could all celebrate," Emily says. "We call it the 'Diamond and Diploma' weekend."

And on June 26, the two of them got married in front of 275 guests on the UTC campus. The black and white affair with touches of pink was accented by touches of Tennessee, like the groom's cake shaped like the state and "Rocky Top" played during the reception.

And when Tyler does run for governor, just look for the guy with the bowtie.

"It is kind of a signature," Tyler says. "In fact, I am wearing one right now."

Ceremony Snapshot

The location: Devoted alumni through and through, the couple wed in the Patten Chapel on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's campus. The reception was held at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Chattanooga.

The bride wore: Emily wore a white taffeta gown from the Bridal and Formal Shoppe in Murfreesboro that featured ruching on the bottom, beadwork through the bodice, a chapel train and buttons running up the length of the back.

The attendants wore: The six women wore black taffeta, tea length dresses with V-necks and white sashes from David's Bridal.

The groom wore: He and his groomsmen wore black tuxedos from Men's Wearhouse. And while the groomsmen wore straight ties, the groom was in his signature bowtie.

The music: The couple went traditional at the ceremony with classic hymns, but added a little twist. During the sand ceremony, they played "The Tennessee Waltz". DJ Gene Lovin of 410 Productions performed during the reception and the couple's first dance was to "My Girl" by The Temptations.

The flowers: The bride carried white and dark pink Gerber daisies with black centers, tied with a white ribbon. Her attendants had only pink daisies tied with a black ribbon. The mothers had pink daisies, the fathers and grandfathers had white and the groomsmen had pink. Flowers N' Things of Cleveland, Tenn., supplied the arrangements.

The food: The Doubletree provided light hors d'oeuvres like fruit and vegetables. But the real star was the groom's cake, created by a friend of Emily's. The replica of the state of Tennessee was decorated in the likeness of the state flag."

I hope you enjoy our love story as much as we do! - EMF

Wedding Recap: The Send Off!

The groomsmen caught wind of what time we were leaving and set out to do some decorating.

It was Tyler's Grandfather's car. He looks a little upset in this picture but I think he enjoyed a little extra "flare" to his car!

We had fake snow or Eco-fetti as our send off material. It disintegrates with water...so no mess! I had made little paper cones to for our guests to hold their snow in.

Tyler LOVES to wave!

I think this would be the moment that I got a mouth full!

Zach had somewhat helped me make all the paper cones. He also made a special one for him that was the biggest one. He also proceeded to fill it very full of the snow. Which all went on Tyler's head!

That stuff went everywhere! But, it was totally worth every minute of it!

A few pictures before we left....

And we were off!

A little know fact.... we just drove around the block! We had to bring Ray back his car, and we were staying at the hotel! So, we can back in the hotel and said our goodbyes to our families before they left.

It was all over. 13 months of planning was over in 4 hours but it was a day I will always remember. And, the best part, I got the most wonderful husband out of it! I might dare to say it was the best wedding ever... but I am a little bias!

This concludes the wedding recaps!

-EMF

Wedding Recap: The Reception

While Tyler and I traveled to the reception, we ask that the guest go ahead and eat! And, what great food we had!


Most of the stuff for the wedding I had done myself. I asked the photographer to make sure to capture the details of the day. It is nice to look back and see the fruits of my labor! I had designed the centerpieces. I collected each vases one by one & tied the ribbons.

I had designed my cake also. And, the napkins.

I made our cake topper.

Another favorite detail was our cake cutter. It had been used by my Aunt Janis and my Mother in their weddings. Their initials & date were engraved on the knife. Now, Tyler & my initials will be joining theirs!

My good friend Kristy Cordell made the groom's cake. It was FABULOUS! A good representation of Tyler if I do say so myself!

My Aunt Janis started this jar of wishes at my first bridal shower. It also came with us to each of our other pre-wedding events.

We also made our favors. Little bride & grooms filled with color matching M&Ms! My favorite!

We announced each of our wedding party.

Then, Tyler and I came out for our first dance to "My Girl." It was our first song we danced to on our first Valentine's Day together.

Then, my Dad and I danced to "In My Life" by the Beatles. The Beatles always make me think of my Dad so who else would we have danced to?

Tyler and his Mother danced to "Close to You" by the Carpenters. A song they used to sing together when he was little.

There was a special dedication to Tyler and his Nanny. They danced to "Stand By Me."

One of my favorite pictures: Tyler and I had just cut into the cake.... and it started falling apart! Our expressions say it all!

We fed each other cake... but were very nice about it!

Then we toasted with champagne!

There was lots of dancing.....

More dancing...

and more dancing...

As everyone knows, Tyler loves attention... I think he was at his peak at this moment.... :)

We visited with friends... from long and far, both new and old.

It was time for the garter toss! I had no idea he had this planned!

Priceless!

Jimmy caught it!

It was my turn to throw the bouquet to the single ladies!

We danced some more. And, our last dance was to "Save the Last Dance for Me."

Next Up: The Send Off!

-EMF