Wedding love on a Friday: Ivory Sparrow and a Call to Action

I remember what it was like being a bride... the excitement, the anxiety, the stressing over decisions and details that, as it turns out, won't stop the world from spinning on its axis. Today I had to start with this little video via The Knot because I couldn't help myself:



A few of you probably saw the title of this post and thought, "Didn't you get married almost three years ago? Haven't we already been subjected to you talking about it and sharing it and reliving it over and over and over again?! Leave us alone, woman!"

But it's actually even more exciting than my wedding, friends (ok, maybe a little less exciting, but it's up there). Today's the big reveal for a project my mother-in-law and I have been working on for the last two years... Ivory Sparrow.

When I was getting married, I was a fiend about planning our trip down the aisle. The websites and blogs I frequented and the wedding magazines I purchased... overzealous may be the word for it. I never brought myself to tally up how much money was spent on those publications from April 2008 to June 2009, which was probably a good thing for me (and my husband's sanity). I bought a cute accordion folder and loaded it to the brim with fabric swatches and brochures and mostly, tear outs from magazines filled with wedding inspiration deemed awesome by me.

During a visit to my soon-to-be in-laws all those years ago, Kyle's mom, Cyndi, and I were looking through the pages when I showed her a tiny little photo of a bride and her bridesmaids getting ready in some cute terry cloth wraps. We thought it could make for a fab gift for my girls and also create a great "getting ready" photo opportunity on the big day, so we scoured the Internet for them. We discovered the options for bridal wraps were, well, less than pleasing to the eye. They were made with cheap fabric, ugly details and provided a less than flattering fit.

Cyndi thought she could do better... and boy, did she!

The fabric she crafted them out of is superb. We spent hours discussing buttons and fit and thread: if we were gonna do this, we wanted to do it right. She developed wraps for flower girls as well, totes and quality flip flops with Swarovski crystals to round out Ivory Sparrow's collection, and plan to include robes in the near future.

Since my own wedding, we've had the honor of working with a few other bridal parties while we toiled to get Ivory Sparrow off the ground. And now that we're ready and open for business, we know other brides will love them too.

The hours leading up to a girl's wedding are special and made even more so by the people with whom the future Mrs. chooses to surround herself. Our wraps make getting hair and makeup done a breeze, and add to the overall camaraderie of the day (because, let's be honest, there's nothing better than sitting back with your girlfriends, sipping champagne and getting pampered).

Soooo, since we're friends, and I'm hoping you'll wish us a fond "Bon Voyage" as we take off on our journey, I'm hoping you'll like us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter. I'm sure there's some eye-rolling going on out there, but take into consideration a few things: (1) What can it hurt? and (2) I'd do the same for you! You have to click on the link for Facebook because until we have 25 followers, it won't come up when you search for it.

On our page and blog, we'll be sharing "Ivory Sparrow Weddings," decor inspiration, DIY tips and more! Also, for any engaged or soon to be engaged ladies, we'll be doing monthly giveaways of our wraps, totes or flip-flops.

If you're worried we're going to bombard your feed with posts and links (I'm looking at my guy friends here), you can still "like us" but hide our posts from your feed... it's a win-win for all!

To sum it up, help a sista out: like us on Facebook, check out our site and have an amazing weekend!