Every Wedding needs a Theme...

So, in prepping for the wedding, we're aware that this is all very far in advance. After deliberating, it only seemed logical to plan the wedding around my veterinary school graduation. More parties are supposed to be more fun, right?
The main reason, however, is that we are hoping to get some of my East coast family out for the event, and it's easier to make one arduous journey as opposed to two. Yet, it also is giving us ample time to plan and make things great in spite of how busy we will be!
It was hard to know where to being, especially because my wedding attendance experience is relatively limited and I wasn't sure where to start at all! My lovely mother was kind enough to get me lots of great books. Tina thought it was hilarious that I was reading them and highlighting as though they were textbooks.
So, I have some pretty good ideas of where to begin, but thought it would be nice to start out with some color schemes and paintings for inspiration. Having certain elements to tie everything in together should give a distinctive vibe to the various ceremonies.

Above is Moon by Alphonse Mucha, one of John's and my favorite artists. We have picked Jade & Marine as our colors, thinking that the blue and green also go well with the ocean that I love and the mountains where John is most at home.

There's lots of other ideas we've thrown out there, such as using driftwood and sea glass with only a couple flowers as table decorations. But, just having a good start with some solid colors and great support group seems like a nice foundation to being our 2 years of planning. The other element that I think will connect it all together are butterflies, and I envision something like this.

As silly as it may seem, I'm reminded of the butterfly that was conspicuously present at my father's funeral. Everyone noticed, and my mom and I later joked about "Billy the Butterfly." So, I thought that incorporating butterflies as a theme would make for appropriate decor. I found this lovely image of an art nouveau pin. I'm also reminded of one of John's and my first dates, where we went to see the art nouveau jewelery from France.