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December 28, 2021

our venue wedding | the details.

In October 2020, my husband and I got married in my parents' backyard after the pandemic led us to push our venue celebration off a full year. As the new date approached, I waffled back and forth with even wanting to have a huge wedding after already being married for a year, but with a nonrefundable deposit already in and our vendors already booked (including our amazing photographer!), we went ahead with it and are so happy we did. To have all of our people in the same room celebrating our marriage with us was extremely special and an opportunity we likely won't come across in the same capacity ever again. Plus, I got to wear my killer wedding dress that had been sitting in my mom's guest room for more than a year.

For our 2020 ceremony, the small wedding details were super important to us to make our intimate celebration feel special. For this year's party at our venue, it was still important for us to put a lot of ourselves into it — especially at a beachside venue with a very specific vibe that isn't exactly "us" — so I did what I could to make the party feel like ours.

Outfit, Style, and Getting Ready Details


Custom Letter Balloon Banner

I created our wedding invites myself, but used Basic Invite to upload the custom design. (The company lets you customize any of their designs, but I used specific fonts for our wedding that the company doesn't have.) Basic Invite also offers free addressing, which is a huge selling point and why I've used the company for all of our various wedding events and even our thank yous. We also added on the initial stickers to close the envelopes (even though they were self-sealing) with one of our wedding fonts.

I spoke about my custom leather wedding jacket in last year's post, but have to hype up my girls at Dearly Threaded once again, because they create the most gorgeous custom pieces ever. 


Bridesmaids Dresses (left) |  Maid of Honor Dress (far right)



Ceremony Details



Our signature cocktail sign is something I created myself with illustrations of our two cats and our wedding fonts, and I got it printed on acrylic.

Hashtag Sign

I wanted a cute mirror to display near the bar for people to take photos in, so I added some vinyl to a very inexpensive door mirror that said our names, the wedding date, and "'Til Death Do Us Party" to match my wedding jacket and our decorative pennan, which both say "'Til Death."


Rather than a photo or signature guestbook, we really wanted to do something special (or we weren't going to do anything at all). I saw After the Tone on Betches Brides's TikTok a few weeks before our wedding and instantly knew it'd be a hit. The company sends you a phone to rent that comes with a recording device you slip right into the back of the phone. Your guests pick up the phone at the event, record a message, and hang up; then, when you send the phone back, After the Tone takes all of your messages, cleans them up, adds a voicemail beep between each message, and sends you a file with all of the recordings. We're so glad we splurged on this to have these messages — some heartfelt, some silly — from our loved ones forever.

 
Our seating chart was another thing that I created myself with our wedding fonts, then had it printed on a foam board with grommets punched through. The stand was made using copper pipes from the hardware store that we cut to size.

I custom made our menus were and used Staples to print them on cardstock.

Last Name Cake Topper | Dried Floral Cake Topper

Our favors were candles that were a true labor of love. We bought wholesale rocks glasses and our friends helped us melt and pour wax with a woodsy scent, then I created the labels and printed them as clear stickers with Sticker Mule.

As mentioned, the venue itself wasn't *exactly* my style — though it was lovely, the food was incredible, and our guests had the most fun — so I loved being able to add these personal touches that represent us as a couple and lended some fun to the day.
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December 30, 2020

2020 book report.

One of my goals for 2020 was to read every single day of the year, and aside from my wedding night (I was tired and buzzed, sue me!), I succeeded — at least up until now, with a two nights of the year left.

Reading, like everything else, looked different for me in 2020: rather than catching thirty or so minutes of my current read on the train home from work every night, I usually got my pages in right before going to sleep. My nightly routine consisted of applying skincare, putting on fresh PJs (okay, okay, a lot of nights I went to bed in the outfit I was wearing all day . . . 2020!), and reading as many pages as I could get in before I drifted off. Some nights that was a chapter, some nights it was half a book, and in rare cases, it was a page or two before I truly couldn't keep my eyes open.

My yearly reading goal was 30 books, which I hit in September, and it was the first time in years that I've not only hit my goal, but topped my record for the most books I've read in a year since I joined Goodreads (second highest was 34 books in 2015). So despite only getting in a few pages on some nights, it appears that my mission to read every day definitely helped get me tearing through things overall.

Here's the complete list of books I read in 2020:

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
When All Is Said by Anne Griffin
The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
Meet Cute by Helena Hunting
The Whisper Man by Alex North
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Beach Read by Emily Henry
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
If You Tell by Gregg Olsen
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Of those 38 books, I had quite a few favorites that I have consistently recommended to friends: 

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. I was completely engaged from the start of this emotional read, though I did get a bit lost in the writing here and there. The epilogue, though! Worth the read regardless, but definitely for those last pages.

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. I loved this sweet story. It played out like a romcom in my head, so I would love to see it in movie form. The dialogue was both hilarious and heartbreaking — just so, so good — and the entire thing warmed my heart. 

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. There wasn't a moment of this that didn't have my attention. Although it was long, every page was delicious. I laughed, I cried — I even gasped at one point when I realized I'd correctly guessed a twist — and I feel like I learned about myself along the way. If you love historical fiction, strong women, and fully developed characters with rich backstories, please read this so we can talk about it forever.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I WISH THE EVENTS OF THIS BOOK WERE REAL LIFE. THE ROMANCE! THE DIALOGUE! THE HOPE FOR A BETTER, MORE ACCEPTING (ISH) AMERICA! God damn. That's it. That's all I got. Read this, you won't regret it, I promise.

Verity by Colleen Hoover. I read this whole book in one sitting and then needed to talk about it so bad after that I explained the entire plot to my husband just to reveal the twists to him. Every single page had my attention straight from the beginning, so don't start this one unless you're ready to hunker down and devour it — you'll need to know what happens because there is truly nowhere to stop. Can't wait to read more Colleen Hoover in 2021!

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert. This was such a delightful read that I breezed through with a smile on my face for 90 percent of it. Chloe and Red are great characters, and this story was charming and adorable. I'm hoping to get to the other two books in the series (one about each of Chloe's two sisters) soon, because I can't imagine them not being just as good.

Beach Read by Emily Henry. This was my favorite read of 2020 — that is, until I got to the fantasy series noted below. Although there was a lot of hype around it that put some people off, I found this read so relatable and fun (and raw) that I couldn't put it down. This is another one that I NEED to see in movie or series form.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. I haven't read a true fantasy series in a while, so I was excited to start A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first of a four-book saga about a human woman who is forced to live in a magical fairy (or "faerie" as it's spelled in these books) land she's grown up fearing. The first book was great, but now that I'm three books in and patiently awaiting the fourth, which comes out in February, I can confidently say that the second book in the series was my favorite book of the entire year. It's clever, exciting, anxiety inducing, and *whispers* sexy; plus there are a few good twists — it has all the things. I loved it so, so much, and I'm so dang attached to its characters. I'm hoping to get the second half of A Court of Frost and Starlight, the short companion tale to A Court of Wings and Ruin, under my belt before 2020 is out.

Which leads me to of my goals for 2021: to be in bed by 11:30 as much as possible (I've been going to actual sleep around 1:30 every night this year — I don't want to talk about it!) so I can hopefully get nearer my updated yearly target of 50 books. A jump from this year's 30, but with 38 books under my belt since January, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Follow me on Goodreads to see how I get along!
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December 4, 2020

everything I bought to make our backyard wedding special.

When I originally started planning the details of my wedding day late last year, I'd made a checklist of things I wanted to purchase — from dried lavender for guests to throw after the ceremony to the drink signs. I had a vision and a plan to slowly acquire my favorite items on the list, those things that I felt would make the day more special. Then, when we made the choice to postpone our big wedding due to the pandemic but still have a backyard ceremony on our original date, I knew that the small details would mean even more for such an intimate party.

We held a small ceremony in my parents' backyard on October 24 with 17 people — parents, siblings, grandparents, and our maid of honor, best man, officiant, and flower girl — and the day was absolute bliss. When I woke up that morning I couldn't even wrap my head around the day finally having arrived, but a month later, I can truly look back and say it was perfect. And, thanks to our photographer, we have SO many photos to look back on that include all of the details that came together to create our *vibe* for the day.

Outfit, Style, and Getting Ready Details




It would be remiss of me not to first mention this gorgeous custom embroidered leather jacket made by my friends Heather and Allison of Dearly Threaded.  The design on the back is made up of a moon, flowers from my actual bouquet, and "'til death" in a font I bought for this blog and never ended up using (we love to repurpose!). It says "Mrs. Lags" on the front lapel to pay homage to my new last name (really its nickname, as the full thing is Lagattuta), and our first initials are in a lil' heart on the left sleeve. While it's not a detail of the actual wedding per se, it made for the most amazing photos, kept me warm as the day's heat dwindled, and is now a keepsake I plan to wear often. Highly recommend!


Matt's Shoes / Matt's Bow Tie / Matt's Cologne

'Til Death Pennant Flag / Cheetah Print Shoes / Vow Booklets

The tiny Moleskin notebooks were originally blank, so I used my Cricut Maker to cut "her vows" and "his vows" in gold vinyl and adhered them to the fronts of the books.

I bought so many pins from a sweet Etsy shop, Everyday Olive. 

Pictured: Mrs. Pin / XO Pin
Not pictured (given as gifts on the day): Maid of Honor Pin / Flower Girl Pin / Photographer Pin

Crawler Earrings / "M" and Dotted Bracelets (top and bottom in pink box) / Necklace (middle in pink box)

Getting Ready Ring Finger T-Shirt
Not pictured: "To My Beautiful Bride" Card

My parents' dog Lucas's bow tie was handmade by my friend Steph of Leia Makes Magic.

Ceremony Details


Welcome Letterboard Sign / Easel

Each chair had a handmade ceremony program on it — on one side I had the day's schedule, a little backstory on our wedding date, and a thank you to our guests. The other side (pictured in one of the photos above) had a digital illustration I made from one of our engagement photos, as well as details about our mini wedding party (we kept it small for this year's gathering, but our wedding party actually has 19 people in it, which is more than our entire mini wedding guestlist!). I waffled over having ceremony programs at all because it didn't seem fully necessary, but it ended up being a nice touch and keepsake, plus an excuse to repurpose my illustration.

Each program was held down by a magnetic coaster that I applied guest names to in gold vinyl (as I did with our vow booklets) to act as seating assignments so that we made sure families could be separated for safety.

We borrowed our ceremony arch from friends who made this gorgeous hexagonal cedar arch for their own wedding (thanks, H + I!). There are tons of building plans for arches similar to this on Etsy, like this one.

Cake Table Details


"The Lagattutas" Wall Sign (gifted by my MOH!) / Guestbook Letterboard Sign / Instax Mini Polaroid Camera

Surprise, surprise: I used my Cricut to add our names in gold vinyl to the lid of the box!


Umbra Prisma Photo Frames (in 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 sizes with engagement photos taken by our photographer!)

To make the hand sanitizer bottles more fun, I took off the labels and wrote "Wash your hands, ya filthy animal" in gold paint pen.

Cake Topper / Cake Stand (also pictured above for a better look)

I used my Cricut to add Mr and Mrs in black vinyl (though it's all very poorly spaced!).

And that's about it! Everything was gold, white, and pink, which is my main aesthetic literally all the time, so I was extremely happy with how it all turned out. Slide into my DMs if you want to ask me anything else about the day!

xo,
The New Mrs. Lagattuta (!)
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