Duluth Minnesota Wedding Photographer | Blog | Bailey Aro Photography

5/23/12 They said yes! : DIY Bridesmaid Boxes

So, for those of you who haven’t heard the scoop yet, I too am tyin’ the knot. Woot!

In a nutshell: It happened on an overcast New Year’s Eve afternoon, on the snow-laden shores of Lake Superior. Although plagued with laryngitis, I happily croaked “yes” to my best friend in the world. A stellar start to 2012, to say the least.

Of course, one of the initial questions was: “Who’s gonna be in the wedding party?” I knew from the start which ladies I wanted beside me, but I needed some time to cook up a fabulous way to pop the question.

A few months ago, I fell gaga, head-over-heels in love with these adorable handmade boxes crafted by Bethany of Rinse.Repeat blog. They are pretty darn fabulous, and I couldn’t help but be inspired to put my own spin on Bethany’s project (Thanks, B!).

Check out the results below!

My ingredients & their sources:

:: Boxes from Michaels

:: Scalloped paper from Michaels

:: Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Satin Spray Paint in Catalina Mist

:: Krylon Clear Satin Varnish

:: Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Chalkboard Paint

:: Vintage map poster (for lining the box & for the paper heart envelopes) from Paperchase in the UK

:: Heart-shaped cookie cutter from The Blue Heron Trading Company in Duluth, MN

:: Ice cream stickers (three of my girls & I met scooping ice cream at our first summer job) from Michaels

:: Map alphabet stickers also from The Blue Heron Trading Company in Duluth, MN

:: Cloth heart ribbon from a small gift shop in Cardiff, UK

:: One brown paper lunch bag for wrapping the tubes of (yes) Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers

:: Hemp twine (found at any craft shop)

:: Three airplane bottles of Maker’s Mark to celebrate!

:: Images of this bridesmaid dress by Coralie Beatrix (aka Sophie Pearl Originals)

Consider creativity when asking your ladies and gents to be by your side on the big day. Make ‘em feel crazy special.

Show me what you got!

XOXO,

blogsig1 Blog

View / Edit Comments

4/11/12 Wednesday Wanderings: Kathmandu

That impending moment of descending in a jet through the rust red smog of the city. That was my first memory of Kathmandu.

It’s a bizarre notion, landing in a city on the opposite side of the planet. My heart swooped with a thousand fluttering wings.

From the plane window, I saw haze and square buildings made of crumbling stucco. The vastness of it captivated me. I barely remember disembarking the plane, completing visa forms, or passing through customs.

I remember the taxi ride to the hotel: lengths of bamboo scaffolding at Tribuvan Airport, mountains of garbage on the streets, lanky white cows grazing atop those garbage pinnacles. Grey monkeys with curling, come-hither tails, dancing along telephone wires like circus performers. A man, like some city dog walker, escorting six roped-together goats to market, much to their bleating protest. And all the while traffic: maddening, jostling traffic. Shoulder-to-shoulder, bumper-to-bumper, one hundred blaring horn tones of traffic.

Kathmandu shifted my senses. It interrogated me, then bullied my mind and body into submission. It insisted on taking control, and I surrendered. Sometimes I miss that wildness. That permeating aroma of incense, rotting garbage, and dust. The omnipresent, peaceful practice of religions. Bartering without restraint, and the kindness of strangers.

Relive it, here.

XOXO,

blogsig1 Blog

View / Edit Comments

4/9/12 Monday Morning Pick-Me-Up: Go forth and paint.

blogsig1 Blog

View / Edit Comments

4/2/12 Monday Morning Pick-Me-Up: Perseverance

So, my fiancé teaches climbing. Last fall, he schooled me in the ways of the wall.

Let’s get one thing straight: I am a selectively adventurous woman. I’ll go trekking in the Himalayas, but I won’t strap on a pair of downhill skis to save my life. I’ll start my own business in the midst of a recession, but I get shy about cliff-jumping. And until last October, I was mildly petrified of the whole climbing thing.

When I was a wee 11 year-old, my class went on a field trip to a local outdoor education center. Being the middle school fashionista that I was, I wore highly inappropriate footwear for our climbing wall lesson: a pair of black leather ankle-high dress boots.

Turns out, I flopped around that indoor rock wall like a guppy. Seriously, I was a hot mess in a harness. Of course, knowing nothing about climbing, and having next to no guidance from the so-called “instructors,” I wrote it off as a failure.

These days, I’m wiser. It was just a mix of bad shoes and bad instruction.

But that memory formed a massive psychological hurdle for me as I started my climbing adventures. I wasn’t worried about having bad technique; I was worried about totally freezing up. And being completely neglected because of my inability.

I needed two things: a good teacher, and good equipment.

Guess what? I got both. And it’s made all the difference.

I still get stuck. I still struggle. I still flounder. But I get to the top, by some route. Even if it doesn’t look too pretty. Even if I stop to rest every few feet.

I get there, eventually.

XOXO,

blogsig1 Blog

View / Edit Comments

3/31/12 Wedding Details Boot Camp: His & Hers

Confession: I love assigning myself homework (just call me Super Nerd).

This morning, I built a small pile of items: a scruffy yet cute pair of summer sandals, two pairs of pearl earrings, a bottle of blush pink perfume, a set of red cufflinks, a vintage map, and a terrifically old-school radio. I then embarked on a wedding details creative challenge.

Here are the results: