Make your own gift card holder

I try really hard to not give gift cards for Christmas.  But sometimes, that's what people want.

In the case that I do give gift cards like for weddings, bridal showers, baby gifts, (ok Christmas too), I try to spice them up so that it appears as though I put a little more thought into the gift. I do this by making my own gift card holder.

It's really pretty simple and you only need a few things.

Supplies: Stamp, ink pad, glue spots, paper cutter, card stock, and a gift card!

Here's what to do:

Step 1 | Cut the card stock to size. I cut my to approximately 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 - 4 inches.

Step 2 | Fold the card stock in half.

Step 3 | Use your stamp of choice to stamp on the outside of the card.  

Step 4 | Attach the gift card to the inside of the card with a glue dot.

Step 5 | Write your note.  (optional: Write the value on the card, behind where the gift card will be attached.)

Step 6 | Give!  (This is the best part!)

This is super simple and can be used for any occasion!  I happened to make this one for a friend's bridal shower. 

Wedding Wednesday: Our Wedding Day Details

We're Married!!

Wow - it's been a long time since I wrote a Wedding Wednesday post.  I guess since we're married now, there really isn't much more to write about.  However, I thought I would share one last post with the details of our wedding day. The details include vendors I worked with and a few memories of the day...

Please do me a favor by visiting, and liking the Facebook pages I share with you.  These people are awesome!

All of these pictures are courtesy of our photographer, Andrea, from Adorn Photography.  If you are from Nebraska, you should hire her.  You wont be disappointed with her work. :)

THE CHURCH

We joined Holy Spirit in the midst of going through our wedding preparations.  We wanted to do it as a "couple" and found our church home here.  Fr. Tim, who married us, gave us the best marriage experience anyone could have asked for. 

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES

My dress was an Alfred Angelo dress.  It was the very last one I tried on during the first dress (and only) appointment.  I tried on a dress that was 2x the size I needed but still loved it. I added the sash which I found on etsy.

My sister's sister-in-law (got that?) made my veil for me.  She is so sweet. She had me look online at what I liked and put it together for me in a matter of a few days. I loved it. 

I love gold and new I wanted accents to be gold rather than silver.  I found these great shoes at ALDO.  The bracelet was from Banana Republic (with coupons, I only paid $1!) The earrings were from Francesca's and the garter was from this shop on etsy.  The garter came with a throw garter too!

HAIR & MAKEUP

My hair and makeup was done by Lore from Lore's Hair Salon. She made me feel like a million bucks!

FLOWERS

My flowers were designed by Design's By Bernie in Carroll, Iowa.  This lady is 100% fantastic! She had me come to look at my bridal bouquet 3 times before the day of the wedding to make sure it was perfect.  The bridesmaids bouquets were solid white hydrangeas.  They are hard to keep alive so Bernie was kind enough to make us an extra bridesmaids bouquet "just in case." 

BRIDESMAIDS

I asked each of my bridesmaids to pick out their own pink or coral dress.  I didn't have any say in the matter - they coordinated this perfectly on their own! OMG! I did this for a couple of reasons; First, I wanted everyone to be able to pick a dress that they could rock.  If you look good, you have a lot more fun! Second, I wanted them to purchase a dress within their price range.  They were not meant to "go broke" for our wedding.  We already asked a lot of them!

GROOM + GROOMSMEN

My husband and the groomsmen are not "tux" guys.  My husband made that clear before we were even engaged. Instead, we went to a nice men's store where Adam picked out a nice pair of dress pants and nice white shirt that they were able to purchase.  They were 100 times more comfortable.  Adam and I gave them these ties from Ties.com.

PROGRAMS & GUESTBOOK

For our guestbook, I created an album on Shutterfly which was a reflection of our dating life and engagement. I wanted it to be something we opened again from time to time. I designed the programs myself (with a little help from a friend) and had them professionally printed. I knew exactly what I wanted and brought the vision to life!

CAKE & DECORATIONS

I had our wedding cake made locally by Sweet Things.  It was meant to be simple and it was. I love what she did with the frosting. 

I kept the decorations simple too. I made these glitter vases and filled them with fake peonys I found at Walmart. We borrowed the mirrors and added tea lights.

SOME OF MY FAVORITES FROM THE DAY

I will always remember this moment when I met Adam in the church before pictures started.  It was the most perfect, honest, and true moment I have ever experienced.

 

We had to most fun wedding party anyone could have asked for! We brought together two completely different groups of friends that meshed perfectly. It was so fun to spend a whole entire day with our best friends!

Since we got married in a small Iowa town it was only necessary to go to another small town down the road to kick off our celebration after the ceremony.  Little did these ladies know what they were in for...

(I love this picture!)

This bar's name may be the "Angry Beaver" but we know it as the "Animal Bar." Yes, those animals were once alive and have been in this bar for years... If you are ever traveling in western, Iowa on highway 30, stop in at the Angry Beaver in Maple River Junction, Iowa. It's an experience!

The reception was super fun.  Our DJ was outstanding so I credit some of the fun had that night to him. Confetti and all! The floor was packed all night long, until about 1:00am!

Well friends, our wedding journey was really fun. Thanks for letting me share it with you.  If you are interested in the rest of my Wedding Wednesday posts that include planning tips visit my wedding page.

I can't wait for what's to come next!

Our Wedding In Snap Shots!

I'm back! And it feels good to be back in the blog world.  I have missed my blog friends and readers!

Since I'm sure you are just a little curious about our wedding, I thought I would come back with some snap shots from our wedding weekend.  But, first of all, let me tell you that I (Adam too) could never have dreamed of how awesome and wonderful our wedding was.  Everything from the planning to the rehearsal to the ceremony and reception - I would have not changed a thing.  We are truly one lucky couple!

Throughout the weekend my sweet bridesmaids kept snapping pictures and posting them to Instagram.  Here are a few of the pictures that they took over the weekend.  To see more search #abkohlerwedding on Instagram!

The Rehearsal Dinner...
Adam's parents hosted the rehearsal dinner at the local winery in town.  It's such a beautiful place with great food.  It really set the stage for the fun we were going to have throughout the weekend.  Plus, we had a private dining room so all of our friends and family got to know each other.  We had quite the group... :)

The Wedding Day...

The wedding day was such a fun day!  We hosted our wedding in the community we live in, which was a perfect choice because our friends and family got to take part in our lives to see where we live, work, and play! My bridesmaids looked beautiful, the groomsmen looked handsome, everyone had fun, and I got to marry my best friend.

Do you see how perfectly the bridesmaids dresses match?! I think I mentioned in a Wedding Wednesday post that I had my bridesmaids choose their own pink dress.  They complimented each other perfectly!

Finally, here are some of my favorites from the day that a friend of mine took!

I can't wait to share some of our professional photos and share more about the story of our day through those photos.  I promise I will.... 

So happy to be back with you all!  Cheers!!

Wedding Break

In case you've noticed, I haven't been posting quite as regularly and the posts haven't been as awesome as I've wanted them to be. :(  That's because I have a serious case of "wedding brain."  So, the inevitable is going to have to happen. I need to take a break from my little blog to make this wedding happen since we are only nine days away.  Eeeekkk!

I have some pre-wedding goals that I need to accomplish, they may make you laugh because they really aren't all wedding related....

one. I want to clean my house from top to bottom.  There is nothing better than coming home to a clean house that smells good.

two. Laundry needs to be done and ironed.

three. We have some work we should do in our yard because wedding guests are going to want to drive by our house to see where we live. (or so I'm told...??)

four. I want to pack for our honeymoon.  We are leaving the day after our wedding for Nashville and you better believe I am not going to want to pack right before we leave. (I hate packing. It causes me stress)

five. There is a little shopping that needs to be done. 

six. Just in case there is some last minute wedding stuff to do, I should probably feel as tho I can easily carve out the time to do it!!

seven. I have a custom design board that I need to finish up for a design client.

eight (and most importantly). I would love for our dating/engagement relationship to go out with a bang! Which means, I want this week before our wedding to be fun and as stress free and normal as possible.  First and foremost I love him and that's what's most important.

You may  not see me until the end of August and I will miss you and your comments.  However, I will be excited to return!  In the meantime, I invite you to become a fan of my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram.  I will be keeping up with some posts and pictures there!

See you soon!

Wedding Wednesday - Preparing For Marriage

The countdown to our wedding day is officially on - 23 days from today we will be tying the knot!  Eeekkk! To say we are excited is an understatement!  While we have been preparing for this day over the last year, we've learned the most important part of the preparation is preparing for our marriage.

We will be getting married in the Catholic church and fortunately the church makes sure we have taken the time to prepare you for marriage. Now, I'm sure the first thing that crosses your mind is how can a priest prepare a couple for marriage since he has never been married.  Good point, the same thing has crossed my mind.  We had the fortunate experience to work with a couple who sponsored us through the church - they are awesome!  We spent five class sessions getting to know them, learning from their marriage experiences and preparing for our marriage.

Our five sessions covered communication, family, finance, faith, and intimacy.  What's a little ironic about these five topics is that they are the ones that are least likely to be talked about and most likely to cause a divorce.  Even though Adam and I have lived together for going on two years, there were still a few things we haven't talked about.  There is a difference between being "pretty sure you know" and actually talking about it.

Let me share a couple of topics that stuck out to me...

Understanding how your family communicates may answer a few questions about how and why you and your fiance communicate the way you do.

How we raise our children within our faith is important!  It goes beyond Sunday mass and religious ed classes.

Another thought provoking topic was "what if we can't have children" and what does that mean for our marriage?  Seriously, that's huge!  I don't think many people go into a marriage thinking that it may not be possible.

Fortunately for us, finance was fairly easy and living together helped that.  We both got to experience how the other spends money.  But if you aren't willing to openly share or see signs of poor financial management, now is the time to talk about it.

Intimacy is more than sex.  It's about being together, sharing your minds, hearts, and faith.  Picture yourselves when you are old... what will you have left? Intimacy.  Think "The Notebook" here... :)

Now here is the kicker.  We started our sessions talking about communication and that is the foundation for everything - our willingness to openly communicate.  The question that brought me the most confidence in our relationship was this one "Besides your spouse, who do you confide in?  Would you tell your spouse everything that you tell the person you confide in?"  Our answers were yes and that makes me happy.

We often joke saying "You're Stuck With Me" when we do something that frustrates the other but it's true, we are stuck with one another.  It's a commitment we've chosen to make thru thick and thin; in good times and in bad.

While preparing for our wedding day has been fun, we are both excited for our marriage and the possibilities it brings to life!

The most important question that anyone getting married needs to answer is... do you want a wedding or a marriage?  They are extremely different.

DIY Personalized Wedding Gift

I mentioned yesterday that I we went to a wedding this weekend in celebration of some our friends in the area!  Instead of a traditional gift (since registries are usually cleared by the time I get to shopping for a gift) I created this personalized wedding gift!

I've seen so many great ideas, like this one, on Pinterest and had to make this project happen. 

Here is what you need:

Canvas

Chip board letters

Tacky Glue (hot glue doesn't work)

White spray paint (matte finish)

Large Letter

First... punch out the letters you need. I got my letters in a huge pack from Hobby Lobby.

Next, arrange them on the board before you glue them down with tacky glue.  Hot glue doesn't work.  It dries too fast and raises the letters up off the canvas.

Here is how your canvas may look pre-spray paint....

Here is your after! I like to use a matte finish spray paint.  You never know where they might hang this is their home (hopefully they do...) so to reduce glare from the sun shining through a window matte finish spray paint works great.

It's pretty simple!  I would definitely hang one in my house.  Rule of thumb for gift-giving: Never give something you wouldn't like to receive! (unless it's on their list...)

Wedding Wednesday - DIY Guestbook

Wedding preparations are in full swing! In June I had two beautiful bridal showers.  Since I couldn't just settle for a traditional guestbook (white cover with lines for people to sign their name) I made my own.  I wanted something that we could go back to from time to time rather than put it in a box labeled "wedding."

I have to admit that sometimes I want to kick myself in the butt for coming up with these ideas because I usually wait until the last minute but I am glad I brought this idea to life!  It turned out great and I received a lot of compliments on it.

I divided up the book into different milestones - 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years - so we could go back to read advice, date ideas, well wishes or whatever people decided to write to us.

Here is what you need to make your own:

Scrapbook

Mini envelopes & note cards (from Chelsea Paper)

Double sided tape

Washi tape

This would make a great guestbook for an actual wedding if it were small wedding - since we have a pretty large wedding planned I didn't want there to be a hold up at the door. 

Cheers to a great Wednesday!

Wedding Wednesday: Gifts For Bridesmaids

Last week I did a little post with gift ideas for groomsmen.  I received a lot of comments and notes of thanks for pulling ideas together into one place so I thought hey - why not pull ideas together for bridesmaids to share with you all this week!  

First, let me tell you, girls are way easier to buy for!! (Maybe it's because I'm a girl??) I could keep on buying for my bridesmaids but that would probably max out my wedding budget and I have a few big expenses left.  Here is a roundup of some of my favorite finds!

Hangers // Totes // Clutches // Monogram Necklaces // Robes

If you do some searching on etsy you can find some really great deals! What other ideas do you have?  Please share in the comments below!!

If you are interested in more Wedding Wednesday posts, filled with wedding planning ideas go here!

Wedding Wednesday - Gifts for Groomsmen

I am moving right along in this wedding planning process and getting into the details including the fun stuff like gifts for our wedding party.  Let me tell you what - there are way better awesome gift options for bridesmaids than there is for groomsmen.  Since we've been on the hunt for wedding party gifts I thought I would share a round up of gift ideas for groomsmen.

Tie Clips // Soapstone Drink Cubes // Money Clip // Flask // Golf Ball Marker // Bottle Opener Key Chain

I really like the monogram items that can, in a way, commemorate the day.  Then again I would like it to be something that is fun and useful. 

A few other ideas I came across were a membership to the Tie of the Month Club (None of the guys in our wedding party would ever join it.  I would probably be considered the worst bride ever) or a bottle (or case) of their preferred beverage.

What other ideas do you have?!  I would love to hear them! 

Wedding Wednesday: Upper Body Workout!

Within the past three years I have really stepped up my physical fitness game which, of course, has shown huge benefits (like the "Elite" rating that I received for my life insurance policy!) in every aspect of my health and well-being.  Now that our wedding is quickly approaching, I've decided to step up my fitness game once again and get this body more shaped and toned - especially my arms and shoulders - so that I can rock my wedding dress.  Seriously what bride doesn't want to look stunning on their big day?! :)

Here is the upper body workout that I've been doing once a week combined with cardio to boost my heart rate!  I have this set up as an 8-week program but will probably extend it and increase the weight to build more muscle.  I've linked these "moves" to videos  for the how-to and added the weight I use as a starting point.  If you are new to working out, it's probably better to start with lighter weight - it's about reps and form, not how much you can lift.

Set 1 - Repeat 3x - 12-15 reps
Bicep curls to shoulder press w/dumbbells  (my weight - 12lbs)
Lateral Raises w/dumbbells (my weight - 10lbs)
Upright row w/ kettle bell (my weight - 20lbs)

Set 2 - Repeat 3x - 15 reps
Pushups
Tricep dips off bench
Lat pull down machine (my weight - 70lbs)

Set 3 - Repeat 3x - 12-15 reps
1 arm bent row (my weight - 20lbs)
Front raises w/dumbbells (my weight - 8lbs)
TRX low row

Good luck - you can do it!  You will look great and feel great! :)

Wedding Wednesday - Tips for Creating A Wedding Registry

It's about time that I get my butt in gear and start a wedding registry! To be honest, I've been procrastinating on this.  While registering for a wedding is probably fun, I want to be practical about it plus there really isn't a lot that Adam and I need considering we will be both be in our 30's (I'm not quite there yet!) and have had our own homes for quite some time.  Plus, we both have solid careers that allow us to purchase what we may need so we don't necessarily need gifts.  But, of course families want to host wedding showers in our honor which is so kind and generous and people enjoy giving gifts as part of the typical wedding tradition.

While we wont have a huge registry, we are looking to upgrade some of our basic kitchen necessities like pots and pans, dinnerware and a few small appliances. Since I've been thinking about this whole registering thing for awhile, I've come up with a few tips for being practical about registering!

Here some great online resources for registry ideas! 

Wedding Wire

Real Simple

The Knot

Martha Stewart

Once we are registered, I'll let you know how to look it up in case you are interested in getting an idea of what thirty-somethings registered for! :)

For all of my wedding planning posts - visit my Wedding Planning page!

Wedding Wednesday: How I Met My Fiance

Meet Adam. Before I share the story of how we met, I have say that meeting the person you are meant to be with is all about timing and God definitely has a plan to make the stars align, trust Him. 

Adam and  I met in 2010 at our company's sales conference in Traverse City, Michigan and we were moments away from never meeting. (yeah, I know what you are thinking...) The first night of our sales conference, at a big social, I remember telling my two friends, Sarah and Cynthia, "That guy is really hot, I wonder who he is!" He was good looking, had a whole group of friends with him and was super confident.

Three days later, we finally met.

It was the last night of our sales conference and after a night out with friends I was ready to hit the hay a little early, and by early I mean midnight, since I had a morning flight back to Minnesota. There was a bar at the bottom of the elevators and I happened to notice that this really hot guy I had been keeping an eye on for the past few days was talking to a few people I just happened to know... kinda know.  So, I let the elevator go and wandered over to the group he was talking to.  A mutual friend introduced us and the rest was history.  

Kidding. 

We actually shut down the bar together and then talked until 3:00 in the morning.  Just us, no one else in sight, not even hotel staff. 

The best part is how he got my phone number.  Two of his friends happened to walk thru the bar and he stopped one of them to say that he had tried calling her.  She said the only phone number that had shown up on her phone was the business office number so he says to me, "Hey, call your phone from mine and see what the number shows up as."  I did. (I  totally knew where this was going.) After they left I said to Adam, "You know you could have just asked for my number and I probably would have given it to you!" The rest is history. 

Kidding. Again...

We parted ways, he said he would call the next day but I didn't believe that would ever happen.  Good looking guys like him didn't call girls like me. When I got back to my hotel room I got a text message from him, (keep in mind we did have a few drinks) that said, "I'm a good cuddler." Huh. Haha! Huh? Now I questioned what I was getting into. 

He called the next day after he had made it back to Iowa and I had made it back to Minnesota.  I was surprised, shocked, thrilled, excited. I had butterflies.  I think we've talked every day since, with the exception of a few trips that took us out of pocket from cell phone service.  

Now, if you knew Adam, you would quickly learn that he is not shy, or short on words, but he had said that there were moments at our sales conference when he wanted to walk up and introduce himself but just didn't know what to say.  Thank goodness God had a bigger plan and brought this all together! :)  I couldn't imagine my life without him. 

The next, and first, year of our relationship was spent nearly 700 miles apart. I moved to Ohio just weeks after we had met so our relationship had to grow over the phone, through communication, friendship and trust. Anyone else, besides the person I was meant to be with, this long distance relationship would have never work. 

Soon he will be my other half and I'm thankful for that every day. 

Wedding Wednesday - Reception Decorations

Our wedding will be here in 5 months so I have been thinking about reception decorations more and more lately.  There are definitely some things that I want to incorporate, like a little bit of lace and an old suitcase, to achieve my "vintage meets modern" theme. Here is what I've come up with so far...

My sticking point has been center pieces for the tables.  I haven't come up with "the perfect idea" yet but I think I am getting closer. I want to pair a modern element with a vintage-type of element.

A lot of these things decorations can by DIY projects but I am going to select my DIY projects carefully for two reasons:

first... I don't want our wedding to look handmade or like it was done on a small budget.

second.... I want to make sure it all gets done and is done well.  Sometimes just buying the things I want is worth it in the long run.

What are your ideas for centerpieces?!  I would love to hear them! :)

Wedding Wednesday: Wedding Cake

It's been a couple of weeks again since I've done a Wedding Wednesday post but to be honest, I haven't been doing too much that's wedding related lately.  I guess I take that back, I'm starting to put together a reception decorating game-plan and we took our relationship "inventory" that we need to do for the church.  

Lately I've been thinking about wedding cake and what I want to do.  Fortunately, Adam's cousin makes wedding cakes and when it comes to wedding related "stuff" that I need, I love being able to go directly to people I know to help me make my wedding wishes come true.

Here is my vision for a wedding cake - simple and beautiful.  I am trying to decide between one tier and two tiers but I know that I love how this cake is decorated!  The frosting is gorgeous so I really hope that make cake-maker can make this happen.

Source

Here are a few things to think about when deciding on a wedding cake.

Budget. I guess this is something you've always got to think about during the wedding planning process! :)

Tiers. You can have as many or as few tiers as you want. I assume that more tiers = more $$ so something to consider if you are working on a budget. And, are you going to save a tier for your 1 year anniversary?

What we're doing: I'm going with either one or two tiers.  Less is definitely more to us.  Since Adam and I aren't cake people we don't plan to save the top-tier for our one-year anniversary.  We've heard too many horror stories of the cake not making it to the freezer, tipping of before the reception starts, or completely forgetting about it. We are just going to avoid the whole potential situation from the start.

How many people you want it to feed. This completely depends on how many people come to your wedding. 

What we're doing: With our cake we are going to make it just big enough to feed our whole wedding party and maybe our parents so we need a cake big enough to feed 28-24 people.  

Alternative options: If you have a lot of people coming to your wedding or if you are working on a budget. Sheet cakes are always an option - check out your local grocery store's bakery department or you local WalMart.  Depending on where you look you can get a large sheet cake from $40-$60. Cupcakes are another option. They can double as a table decoration and even give people a flavor option!

Speaking of flavor... That's a decision you will also need to make. You might want to consult the groom on this one or even schedule a cake tasting. (I love deserts so this would be right up my alley!) It seems that the options are endless for cake flavors.  

What we're doing: I'm not completely sure yet. I like white cakes better than chocolate so I'm thinking along the lines of a mock angel food cake or Adam's cousin suggested a champagne cake which will give the actual cake a light pink color, ultimately matching our color scheme.

Cake Decorations. There are so many beautifully decorated cakes lately - oh my goodness!! And cakes are a part of your reception decor plus everyone ever woman in attendance is probably going to go check out your cake. Things to consider are; type of frosting, cake toppers, flowers, design, shape.

What we're doing: I love peony's but since they are out of season for our wedding (which makes them spendy) I've asked my florist to find a large pink peony to put on the top of our cake, similar to the one below. I'm also considering a letter "K" for the top of the cake.  How I would like the cake to look is just like the first picture in this post (I'm hoping). Although, I think this cake is beautiful too!

Source

Any other suggestions for deciding on your wedding cake?!  If so, leave a comment - I would love to know.  I'm sure I'll share more details on the cake as we get a little closer to our wedding date and hear from my cake-maker!

Happy Planning!

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