I had fun hanging out with the Baze family a few days ago….their little girl was super duper smart…and had so many fun expressions, I just couldn’t stop clicking. Her big blue eyes just sparkled in the chilly weather out side! The whole family were troopers, though…we got some great ones!

Mason Jars. Could they be any cuter? I love that there are so many uses for them…and I happen to have a collection of them that I’ve had for over the years. They have taken on a whole new life as wedding favors and DIY projects and I thought that I would share some of my favorites from this last summer with you!

1.  Home made jam favors:  if you have a handy group of friends, take a few days,  get some yummy local berries and make some home made jam or jelly. Use twine or ribbon to attach a cute tag with your wedding date and name on and bam! You have a really cute favor for guests to take home. We had local home made strawberrie jam from a wedding in snohomish this summer and it was delightful!

2.  Candy holder:  put a cute piece if fabric that matches your wedding colors on each place setting with a tag that says thank you….then put a sign at your candy buffet bar that says fill your jar and let your guests take a cute jar home with some yummy treats!3. Scones! This is a fun one. Cute jars with a ribbon around the ring lid and fun circle sticker with your wedding date and names on the top. Then fill with scones, jam and then a dollop of frosting .  The cutest part was the little wooden spoon stuck to the lid with a sticky dot. These were such a a hit,  guests were eating these before the wedding was even over!

4.  Candle votives:

these mason jars with green mumms glued to the top were so stinking cute. The button mumms ad a pop of color to the flower center pieces and guests took them home after the wedding.

5. Drinking glasses…a fun, casual drinking glass option. Gotta pick up the cute straws!
6. Lanterns- there are a few options with these, real candle votives, flameless candles, or amazing Edison bulbs! Super easy, just use wire to or twine to hang with! So cute, and you can use these after the wedding!

I love diy projects and if you are making some cool DIY projects for your wedding…I want to shoot it! You must be my favorite kind of bride…crafty, independent and ready for fun. Email me at Kaylee@eylanderphotogrpahy.com for wedding pricing info!

Back in the day…10 ago when I started planning my wedding, someone gave me a great tip and told me to start tearing out pages in wedding magazines….so that I could formulate a plan and start getting my ideas together. In my lovely 3 ring notebook, I had dividers with pockets for all kinds of things, flowers, dresses, wedding photography that I liked.  I just threw pages in there randomly, whenever I had time, and by the time I started meeting with vendors, I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for. Except for the flower department. It was amazing to be able to show my florist all of my seemingly random ideas, and she was able to pick out what I really liked…solid colors and large green leaves. yep. Thats I what I liked.

Enter Pinterest. Its like a virtual 3 ring binder with all of your fabulous ideas that you can access with your smart phone or ipad. Its amazing!  Brides, if you aren’t using Pinterest to plan your wedding, your life could be so much easier! Its free and so darn easy to get started! Then all of your random blog reading will have a purpose! You will be able to pin any photos that you love to your boards and will be actually be able to remember where you saw that bouquet you loved and that wedding gown that was so gorgeous…what blog was that on again? Grey Likes Weddings or Pretty Little Weddings?

Its absolutely so easy…

So get an account and start pinning! You will be so happy when you search for little white lights and find something like this:

So get there and start making your blog surfing really, really productive! Happy Pinning!

With the new discovery from Pinterest, (find my button on the side of this post!:), my creativity has come alive and I’ve been begging my husband to get me some pallets to start creating with!  I came home today and there where a few in my newly cleaned garage…and I squeeled! yay! Let the creative mess begin!

I have pinned a few of the projects that I was thinking I might jump into here. There are so many…I’m excited to started!!!

I’m amazed at the fun ways you can re purpose and re-use pallets for the home…and even better…for your wedding!

Here are 5 ways to use Pallets in a DIY Project for your wedding! Start collecting now!!:)

1. Directional signs to help your guests figure out where they are headed!  or telling your reception guests whats cookin up for dinner or dessert.

here.  You could use it to display some amazing engagement photos, or your childhood photos instead of doing a slideshow. Then when your wedding is over, you could use it in your living room as well!

3. Many different kinds of tables: You could use these for your dessert tables, your reception buffet tables or your cake table! Its a rustic and fun option…then you can reuse later in your home! Just keep your pallet neutral or to match your home decor. I think this is a fabulous idea that I haven’t really seen in weddings yet!

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4. Sign in Table This would be so cute at the entrance of your barn/field ceremony for a sign in table or put your thumb print tree on it!  Then use it later in your back yard for a potting table! I wanna make this one for myself!!

5. Wall Art for your wedding: Use what ever words that make you happy…love, marriage, kiss or your initials and lean it up against the wall on one of your tables…or use it as a sign in and have your guests sign it with sharpies! Then you get to hang this in your home after your big day!

I will be making some of my own fabulous DIY projects in the near future and I’ll be posting them very soon!  I can’t wait to get started on them!

I definitely have a sentimental part of me that slows me down once and a while to look at old photos, yearbooks, scrapbooks and videos…..and this month my daughter turned 8…and after the party died down, I took some time to look at some videos that we had taken of my kids over the years. Then…I woke up at 5am and started watching again. I couldn’t get enough of their little  voices and little faces.

There is something so precious about looking back on our past. It helps us to see where we have come from and that we’ve grown, changed and alot of times…we’ve stayed the same. It helps us remember our accomplishments (thanks mom and dad for video taping all my games, cheerleading, speeches, choir concerts and the list goes on and on!) and just some of the funny things we have done.

I think that is why I love my job so much. To take a slice of a couple’s relationship, a family’s fun dynamic or some sibling love….once its captured…hopefully its around for ever!  Another great reason to back up your images on a few hardrives, or dvds….and look at them often!

So…in honor of me….watch your kids videos with them…and even better….video tape your kids today!

I just wanted to share one of the gems I found the other night.

So….what do you do when you uber creative sister in law gets engaged to a photographer? You shoot the most amazing engagement session ever. Done.

She said rowboat..typewriter and suitcases….I died!  UH-MAZE-ING.

I had so much fun with these two at their house on Lake Washington…..what a fun place to live! Endless photo options….

One of my favorites on the dock.

I had so much fun with Tiffany and Daniel at their Fall inspired Day After Session at Craven Farm in Snohomish.  These two are a great fit for each other and have creative juices just oozing out everywhere! They designed an amazing wedding and I can’t wait to see the others she designs with her wedding design company, Dust & Decadence.   She brought a few of the lovely elements from her wedding (see a sneak peek here!!)

Another one of my favorites from the day!

My favorite shot of the day!

Lauren & Dan = Fun. I know this because I hung out with them at this fabulous wedding. I absolutely can’t wait to hang out with the same crowd of crazy fun dancers at Lauran & Dan’s Wedding.

When I asked them how they met….they looked at each other and paused….hmm…..well…its as if they always were together. i like that. There is such an easy breezy way about their relationship that is a pleasure to be around. They are going to make a perfect old married couple someday…

We hung out at the Kirkland waterfront and shot their engagement session…and laughed alot. And talked about what food alot.

I can’t wait till these two tie the knot. It shall be a fabulous day at Hidden Meadows.

Apparently…this is a common mode of transport in their relationship. love it!

My favorite pic of the day. 

Camp Grande….a gorgeous place! I don’t know who I need to call to become a member…but this place is so cool! Its a little hidden gem out there on Camano Island….and Courtney just happens to be a member. I am so happy she shared it with me! Right on Puget sound…it has a lovely little pier and tons of beach. We were so lucky to get some sunshine in October!

Can you imagine how excited I was when they pulled up in this amazing black Chevelle? I think I screamed!

I absolutely cannot wait for their wedding next summer! Its going to be fabulous!

I gotta tell you that when I sat down with Jen & Dave, I just knew I was going to love their wedding. And boy….was I right! It was such a blast! I loved being on the Argosy Cruise on a warm September evening…out on the deck, taking in the amazing Seattle skyline from the beautiful Puget Sound. What an amazing night!

We started out at the Red Lion in Seattle and then headed down to the Seattle waterfront for some wedding party & Bride & Groom portraits…from there we hopped on the boat and got ready for the ceremony!

I absolutely loved this bridal bouquet with white hydrangeas, yellow calla lillies and navy ribbon! So fabulous and fit with the nautical theme perfectly with out being over the top.

I loved this simple white rose bud cake from Jenny Cookies for the cake cutting! All of the desserts were on the tables, so this was special, just for the bride and groom! 

How cute are these umbrellas that the bride and groom gave away as favors! With tons of their guests coming from other states, these were a perfect momento from Seattle….but I’m really glad we didn’t even need them!

So in love the with Nautical rope to hold up the Dessert cards!

Jenny Keller of Jenny Designs & Jenny Cookies did such a great job taking the Vintage Nautical theme out to the deck of the Argosy Cruise Boat without it being too over the top! I love the lanterns lining the aisle way.

What an amazing view for your wedding guests to enjoy while taking a break from dancing all night long…I had my dinner out on the deck and soaked in the view. Seattle is one gorgeous city!

I am not kidding when I say that these guys danced all night….because they did! The Sound Factory did a great job keeping the peeps on the dance floor….and these guys knew how to move! Super fun friends and family kept the party going all the way to the dock!

If you are having a wedding on an Argosy Cruise ship or any ship, yacht, beach or near any water of any kind….please email me at kaylee@eylanderphotography.com.

Please check out these amazing Seattle Wedding Vendors:

Getting Ready Hotel: Red Lion Seattle

Wedding Design: Jenny Keller Design

Flowers: Stadium Flowers

Wedding Desserts:  Jenny Cookies

Wedding Photography: Kaylee Eylander 

Ceremony & Reception: Argosy Cruises 

DJ: The Sound Factory 

Wedding Gown: David’s Bridal

On Location Wedding  Make-Up: Sequoia Leopold, My Flawless Make-up

On Location Wedding Hair Stylist: Sozo Salon