I’ve been pining for an antique Odd Fellows banner for the longest time. These hand-painted silk flags are not only beautiful — they’re also covered with amazing symbols, like beehives, conjoined links, hands, hearts and skulls. (In other words, much of the same iconography that inspired our wedding invitations.)

Because I’ve had such great luck putting it to the universe before, I thought I’d try again. I’m looking for a talented painter / embroidery or needlework kinda person to recreate the imagery from our wedding invitation as a custom silk banner, with some gold fringe on the edges. Hand-painting, screen-printing, iron-ons or embroidery will work, as long as it looks great. (And I’ll definitely pay for your efforts!)

Just the thought of this wondrous piece on my guestbook table makes me squeal with delight. If you know someone who can make this dream a reality, send ‘em my way!

When I became obsessed with ancient Grecian gold laurel crowns, I thought I had no hope of finding something similar. I mean, those crowns are artifacts in a museum; there didn’t seem a chance in hell that I’d be able to find, much less afford, anything that measured up to those precious golden wreaths.

Until, on a whim, I searched Etsy for an antique golden crown. Lo and behold, vintage seller Pippa Tree had the most intriguing golden and silver crowns. In fact, I found one such piece — so delicate and not like a crown crown (as I have no princess aspirations, only Grecian) — that really took my heart. This tiara, along with the matching boutonnière, was originally worn in 1936 for a German couple’s fiftieth wedding anniversary (meaning they were married in 1886 — whoa!). Seeing it in person was an eye-opening experience, and I felt truly lucky to have found something so special.

Read the full history of these heirloom garlands on the Etsy Blog.

So, these are drawer pulls, and four -and-a-half inches long. However. These would be my ideal wedding earrings. Like, spot on.

I would say that I’d just attach some earring hooks and call it a day, but I’m pretty sure the size would make more of an impression than I’m looking for. Now the question is how a lady might get a smaller version of these drawer pulls. Do you know someone who could cast something similar? Someone who sells something with the same oomph?

Puttin’ it out to the world, once again.

Yep, I’m deep down the wedding hole — and loving it. I promise programming as usual will return soon.

Now, to the news at hand: My wedding bands are done, and I’m so in love with them. After purchasing an antique coral ring (and subsequently losing the middle stone while shopping at the grocery store, which left me bummed for days), I decided to pursue antique restoration. After viewing my options for replacement stones — opal, turquoise, contemporary coral and rose cut diamonds — I went with the obvious choice and decided to make the band into my wedding ring. The rose cut diamonds are true to the time period — the ring was probably made in the teens or 1920s — and so damn pretty!

However, I’d originally pined for a wide band: something substantial. After weighing my options, I decided to bite the bullet and finally buy a Satomi Kawakita ring as a friend for my band, since I’ve always loved her work. However, when I got to Catbird, two just looked so much better than one…and hey, I love symmetry! So a stacking situation, it is. Needless to say, I am one happy camper.

And check out my mint green manicure, grown out as always. I was also slightly reticent about posting a photo of my hands this close-up, but whatcha gonna do? I’m excited, man!

So! I’m having quite the time deciding on the earrings for my wedding ensemble. My wedding “look” is pretty old timey: a lace bolero jacket, a velvet sash at the waist, long white dress, and I plan to wear my hair down. Since I’m not wearing a veil and won’t be wearing any other jewelry, the earrings are key, and wearing anything too modern seems like it wouldn’t fit with the rest of the wedding details.

I’ve primarily been searching for gold Victorian earrings, usually with coral. However, I’m also open to jet and turquoise. I just want something to stand out against my dark hair; there was a time when I might have gone with big ol’ rhinestones, but that’s just not my style anymore.

So I’m putting it to you. Which of these earrings do you think fits best with the details I’ve mentioned? Which gets your vote? And if you’ve seen any earrings that you think would float my boat, I wanna see those too!

[All of these earrings are from eBay and Rent the Runway.]

At last! I’m so in love with our wedding invitations, designed by the talented Yas of Quill and Fox. I worked with her to integrate our Odd Fellows-inspired ideas into our invites, and she did an amazing job channeling our vision and setting the tone for our wedding. (Love that Eye of Providence.) I highly recommend you reach out to Quill and Fox about your own project or buy some of her cards, because, y’know, she rules.

Also! The gorgeous photos above were taken by Yas. How I wish those little brass hands came with the set! Maybe I can find some of my own…

Read more about Yas’s process on her blog.

Wedding alert! The latest stage of my planning is the flowers, cake and general state of the reception tables. I’m totally inspired by Dutch still life paintings of the seventeenth century: the lush arrangements, messy draping with fruit, and casual droopy nature (with a few dying flowers in the mix) really speaks to me. Going along with our Odd Fellows theme, I’m having a ceramicist make a contemporary version of the hand and conjoined links seen above as wedding topper of some sort. (Are you a ceramicist? Could you make that? If so, talk to me!)

My friend Jaime is making our wedding cake, and we’re scheming how to make it as Dutch-inspired as possible. Lots of flowers will be strewn, and I’m fanatically searching for the right cake stand. Gold all the way!

For the tables, lots of taper candles are key. I’m debating between using old bottles or just a ton of mismatched candlesticks, with lots of flowers as well — I’d love to have ranunculus and peonies, but I’m on a budget, so we’ll see. We’re also planning on identifying each of the tables by different secret societies, their symbols and handshakes — so, for example, the Masons, the Daughters of Rebekkah, the Amicable Society (LOVE their snake and dove iconography), etc. Lots of research going on over on Pinterest, to be sure.

Find all of the images above on my wedding inspiration board.

Now to start trying on dresses. Eep!

So! I may have mentioned that JB and I are planning a Masonic / Odd Fellows / secret society wedding. Well, one of the first pieces of the puzzle is finally complete, and we’re so excited about it.

I’ve been working with artist Justin Durand to bring our wedding crest to life. What’s a wedding crest, you say? Well, it’s the guiding iconography for our wedding — so, our invitations, the table cards…lots of things! The sky’s the limit, really. We loved Justin’s style — seriously, his work is amazing — so we knew he was the only one to do the illustration for us. The design is based on this vintage iron piece (which I missed the opportunity to buy, sadly). We replaced the traditional “FLT” — the Odd Fellows principles of Friendship, Love, Truth — with our initials for the crest, but we’ll be integrating the conjoined links and FLT into other parts of the wedding.

We’ll be framing the original and hanging it as a keepsake in the apartment. Can’t wait!

Conjoined snakes — more specifically, conjoined snake jewelry — is my latest obsession. I did a little guest post on Honey Kennedy about Victorian symbolism, snakes and my upcoming wedding. Check it out!