Happy 4th Y'all!

I'm signing off a little early this week because we're heading to Lake Norman for our couples shower on Sunday and some MUCH needed R&R by the lake in celebration of the 4th! We'll also stop by and have our second meeting with our Pastor! It's a busy weekend ahead but I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Here's a dreamy love shoot in Nantucket, a perfect and loving way to celebrate your 4th!

via 100 layer cake



Lots of xoxo's,

a.

My bouquet!

Y'all, when it comes to thinking about the PERFECT wedding flowers, I completely stress. There are SO many gorgeous inspirations for wedding flowers and none are exactly alike and that's fabulous! Like I said I'm not the pastel pink vintage girl so when I envision my wedding flowers I see texture, dimension, and gorgeous blooms of different flowers. For myself I also want a monochromatic bouquet with some ivories and greenery.

These are my favorite of fave wedding bouquets that I've drawn inspiration for how I can see my bouquet the day I walk down the aisle.

Favorite bouquet from one of my favorite weddings via Ruffled Blog

Anothergorgeous colored bouquet, a little over the top but so lovely via Martha Stewart Weddings

They both have ranunculus, some greenery, can consist of garden roses or peonies, hydrangeas, I think we'll utilize some scabiosa pods, dhalias even. There's a lot more than meets the eye and I think it's totally exciting to be using some flowers that aren't typical but down right gorgeous! Aldena also suggested the bouquet be a little like the bottom photo with some varying shades to add dimension and I think she knows best!

Meeting with Aldena was such a peace of mind. I've been stressing over flowers forever and just didn't know how to fully explain my vision because I'm not the most artsy person but I feel like I have a good vision. Simplistic, modern, classic, and chic. I want all of that combined and I think that equals gorgeous. :)

With that being said we've also narrowed down the look for the bridesmaids bouquets. These are my examples of how I envision that we could take the look and make it similar to mine but with a little more color with peachy/orange touches.

via pinterest

via martha stewart weddings

via martha stewart weddings

Obviously they are all in different colors with different flowers but the overall style and look are definitely what I am most drawn too. Aldena was totally supportive and definitely understood my visions and appreciated my choices of floral inspiration which made me feel SO confident! AND my mom was totally on board! BONUS! We even decided on what her and the FMIL will carry:

via style me pretty

I totally love the idea that they'll carry their own personal bouquet too! Much more chic than a corsage for the mommas. The grandmother's will have a corsage though.

So what do y'all think?! I can't believe I feel so satisfied now but I do and that makes me feel more relaxed. It's coming together slowly but surely and I'm so thankful for super awesome vendors so far. 138 days to go y'all! Let's do it!

xoxo,

a.

Little balls of ranunculus

I'm headed home tomorrow to do some wedding activities with mom and thought I'd leave you with some pretties! I'll be meeting with our florist for the first time, Aldena Frye, and hopefully we'll discuss more of the wedding flowers I have in mind.

One of my favorite wedding flowers are ranunculus. There's something mesmerizing about the ranunculus that I love.. They're petite enough and come in an amazing range of colors and surprisingly very durable for bouquets. Just LOOK at how pretty they are!

I'll touch more on flowers some other time, I'm always a little confused on how exactly I want them to look because I DO think they really are an important part of the wedding.

But aren't ranunculus gorg?!

xoxo,

a.

Wedding Hair

Last post I discussed some accessories for the wedding like the important hair jewelry, the veil. Well to wear a veil I need a hairdo! I've been searching for a while, and I'm realistic in knowing myself. I know that I don't like my hair down because in my vanity, I feel like my face looks fat. I also know that jamming out and having my hair look GOOD for uh, 10 hours, is a pretty difficult task. I mean, I want some good pics! 

Basically that left me with the idea that I am going to wear my hair up. I pretty much decided that a long while back, but finding the perfect hairdo with my widows peak and trusting someone else to do it, will be a difficult task. 

I have some ideas in mind though. I definitely want some volume up top and perhaps a loosely textured style, like below.

 

 

Some messy texture but refined and super chic.

 

  

Classic high bun with some poof up front, definitely a contender.

 Or the more refined chignon bun style... 

Lots of options, per usual, but all pretty similar. I think I have a good foundation to be able to present a hairstylist with and have them work their magic. I feel confident that they would all be doable with my hair and very picture worthy. Now I just need to buy the veil and put it all together. I'm looking forward to being able to try it all out soon! Stay tuned.

xoxo, 
a.

Accessories are a girls best friend!

I was thinking about what to talk about next and this past weekend mom and I went shopping around town. We visited Saks Fifth to browse their jewelry selections because they have some great things on their website from costume all the way to Mikimoto pearls. I realize that my wedding style is more what I'd call "City Chic" so my wedding choices are a little more modern and glam versus vintage. I'm definitely not a chandelier earring girl.. These are some options I tried on at Saks.

 some david yurman pearls                              alexis bittar unique beauties

Adriana Orsini pave swavorski options..

We liked a few of the above options but weren't really sold on anything.

Personally it's extremely hard shopping for something when I can't try on the dress when I get home and I haven't even settled on a veil or my hairdo! UGH! What's a girl to do?! (Still not sure.) BUT we did venture into J.Crew and I found a particularly sparkly piece of neck jewelry.

Originally I didn't want to wear a necklace because I like earrings more, but it was just TOO fantastic to pass up. Mom even mentioned that she hasn't seen me get that excited about any other piece of jewelry we've tried on. So we bagged it up and took it home, now I'm just waiting to try it on with the dress.

Not THE necklace (I couldn't find it online) but an example of a J.Crew beauty, just to get your imaginations going. (It's a little more glam than that one!) 


My thoughts are to wear the necklace as a POW when we walk into the reception and maybe wear something more reserved for the ceremony. I'll be wearing a veil for the ceremony too so I don't necessarily need a lot of stuff going on to compete with the beauty of wearing a veil on your wedding day.

Speaking of veils though, we still haven't ordered one of those yet. I've been browsing Etsy for inspiration and probably will choose someone from there to order one because I wasn't sold on anything at Nitsa's and we've been to Alexia's but didn't fall in love there either. There was an option at Nitsa's that helped us narrow down what look would be best with the dress, and my mom, aunt and f-MIL all agreed it was the best choice. Here are some examples:

Originally I had envisioned a birdcage beauty like this from twigs & honey and I'm still in love, but want a little more drama.

So that lead us to the style called a bubble veil. It doesn't necessarily have to bubble under but a little drama up top and fullness and room to see the back of the dress, which is one of the amazing features of an Amsale gown. Thus, I'm on the search for a vendor. It's just scary asking for something personalized not knowing what it's going to turn out like. Again it's difficult putting the pieces together when you're shopping for one thing at a time. Sigh.. The life of a bride-to-be..

What are your thoughts?? Are you wearing a veil? Jewelry recommendations?! I'd love to hear!

xoxo,

a.

Here's to 25

Tomorrow I turn 25. I'm not sure how these 25 years have flown by but they have been amazing and I look forward to many more. Since birthdays are a good time to reflect on life I wanted to take a minute and list a few things I hope/will accomplish this year.

Get married
Start a new job
Move into a new place
Visit Paris, finally

Re-read Les Miserables

Keep blogging

Be better at keeping in touch

Limit my phone and computer time

Get outside more

Smile more, and laugh often

 

I don't want to set too many goals and overwhelm myself when we have 5 more months to go with wedding planning, but I DO want to enjoy each and every day even more than I already do. Last night at dinner I had a birthday candle and I did not even know what to wish for because ultimately, I'm so very happy and have everything I could possibly need.

 

Like beautiful friends and a beautiful fiance:

   
xoxo, a.

 

 

 

 

Touching on decor

This weekend my mom is coming into town so we can go see "West Side Story". I'm elated to see this live because I've never seen it performed and it's one of my faves! So glad it's the weekend before my birthday, so it's a great little June treat for me. 

Since she's visiting this weekend I wanted to capitalize on our time together and try to get some wedding things under the belt. Sunday will be 5 months to go, so things need to get done ladies and gents! Needless to say, I'm sure we'll have a great argument on our first trip looking at linens! Definitely what I like and what momma likes are two different things.. 

When I first started planning I knew I wanted a modern and chic wedding. I knew I wasn't the girl who wanted a pink soft palette, but I want it timeless and elegant. Gray, white, pops of orange, maybe a hint of gold? Let's get crazy y'all! I also tend to find that I like texture and dimension in a lot of elements. So whenever I see stripes, chevron, or patterns, I fall in LOVE. I originally liked the idea of some black and white stripe, but that got nixed before I could even show mom examples.. So here are some of my ideas.. We'll see how they end up being portrayed with the mom in tow! (I totally blame her for making me picky and wanting perfection!)

 

Exciting and lovely chevron.. Perhaps in a soft orange or gray? Love the idea!

 http://ruffledblog.com/galleries/multicultural-new-york-wedding/?pid=39185&nggpage=3   

Probably one of my favorite examples of how I'd love our reception to look, even down to the flowers..

 Contemplated burlap for a while.. Not sure if it's the exact look I'm going for?!

Stripes sure make me happy!

 

A totally awesome printed linen?! LOVE.

Last but not least, I can't forget the detail tables like the bar and the buffet and how I want to make them totally awesome too, with the help of a monogram perhaps?!

I love everything about above image, the striped fabric, the monogram and the greenery.. I die.

 Although it's burlap, it's still totally rad and of course a cute monogram, love it! Still modern? What do you think?! I can't decide about the burlap dilemma!

So these little babies are some of my pinterest inspirations from around the web. A little all over the place, because obviously wedding planning makes my head spin with options. But I like something about each one. I like the idea of a gray table cloth but previous mention to mom and she was thinking white, which is fine, because then we could apply some awesome table runners or linens on top with color or pattern. I feel like the options are limitless. Well see what CE Rentals and Classic Party Rentals have to offer, we have appointments with BOTH.

Anyone have any advice for a first timer? Or have been to these locations/used them before? Love to hear some feedback!

Well you all have a fabulous week! I'll be back to catch up soon!

xoxo,

a.

Men and things

You guys may remember my previous posts about fiance and what he'll be wearing to the wedding. Well, we ordered ANOTHER tuxedo from Macy's, this time a Tommy Hilfiger in a smaller size since we realized most of the generic menswear lines are probably going to run large. Well the jacket fit pretty well but the sleeves would need to be taken out some and the pants, were TOO tight. UGH. I swear, this boy has more problems fitting into things than I thought I did!

Well after checking facebook one day, a friend of mine was discussing measurements for a custom suit on a website called Indochino. After browsing the site I found that they custom make everything including, TUXEDOS! And may I add, all for an amazing price of $379, for a CUSTOM tuxedo y'all. I'm sorry but this is actually a great deal!! When you considering renting can run you in the upper 100's-200's, in which you don't get to keep. The other amazing thing about this company? You can choose everything about it, from the vents, lapels, pockets, buttons, lining, and you can even get it monogrammed on the inside!! AH! LOVE. They even have a return policy, and this gal loves a return policy! They even have a section dedicated to weddings.. what more could I want?

Not too shabby right?! I think we are going to pull the trigger, get the boy measured and order a custom made tuxedo. That's pretty sweet if you ask me. I want fiance to feel special and I think this is just the ticket. BUT we shall see what the verdict is when it arrives. I'm very excited. :)

And since it's the weekend, I think I might stop by our local flea market to see what little finds I might be able to snag. Currently, I'm in the market for some large picture frames. I want to use them for our wedding program and also as a menu for the reception. I just like the idea of how pretty they can look with paint or moss, etc, and I can save paper! WOOT. Plus I can reuse those babies in our future home. What's not to like?!

I hope I can find some cute ones at a good price!! I love these little examples!

P.S. It's JUNE!!!! Which means it's my birth month and we have 5 months to go!! Stay tuned for updates!!

xoxo,

a.