Christmas Cards!

It's that time of year folks and I had originally thought about not doing a holiday card because of the mass amount of money I have spent in the last year on postage, save the dates, invitations, and thank you cards... But I just couldn't pass up the opportunity for the only time for us to be able to use one of our wedding photos. Here's what I'm thinking:

Which do you guys prefer?! Truth be told I already order one of the above to send out and did it based on the fact that it was a postcard as apposed to a card/envelope combo which saved me about $50. I love Minted's selection of cards (p.s. click the link for an automatic $25 off your first purchase!!) and they even had a "newlywed holiday" selection tab! How neat is that?!

Well they should be here on Thursday and I can't wait to send them out! :)

xoxo,
mrs. a.  

Our Ceremony Surprise

I know I just showed you guys our amazing wedding video, but I have one more video I want to share with you!

You all know the movie "Love Actually" and the wedding scene where the couple is surprised by an a capella group leaving there reception right?! (If you haven't, you need to stop what you're doing immediately and go watch that movie, it's amazing!! And it's Christmas!) Well mom and the hubby had one final surprise for our wedding day up their sleeve and let's just say, everyone was surprised!!

The performers were NC State's men's a capella group, Grains of Time, and they were the perfect surprise ending to our amazing ceremony! I had no idea it was coming and it caught me off guard but it couldn't have been more magical! Luckily there are no videos of me crying during this.. Totally shed a few tears! We didn't have any music during our ceremony so it was fitting that we had at least some form of song for our wedding and I don't think it could have been more wonderful. 

I have to give thanks to my cousin Brian for catching this video because NO ONE knew about the surprise!

I hope you guys enjoy! Can't wait to share more details soon!
xoxo,
mrs. a. 

Wedding Video Reveal!

Well... We've been married for almost 4 weeks now and I felt it was high time to show you what an awesome time we had at our wedding and what better way to do that than show you all our wedding video?! I can't speak enough kind words about how AMAZING Scottie from Simile Productions was in creating our wedding video. He did such an amazing job and was so responsive and excited to be a part of our day and we couldn't be more grateful! So without further ado:

Amanda & Nick Wedding from Scott Simerly Jr. on Vimeo.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, hiring a videographer, was something I NEVER budgeted for and the more I wandered on wedding blogs the more I watched strangers videos and would start to tear up and I realized that if I didn't have a video I would immediately regret it. So far I really don't have any regrets about our wedding so I KNOW I made the right decision! Hiring Scottie allowed us to have a different view of our wedding, it really showed how much FUN it was and how energetic our reception was. We really focused on the party and making sure our guests were having the time of their lives and we're pretty sure we accomplished this! The video also allowed for us to see the emotion of our first look and being up at the altar saying our vows, and the emotions of getting ready as well. It's just a neat alternative to photos and it's short enough that you never get tired of watching. Hubby and I have watched the video almost every single day since we got it back because it's just THAT good.

If y'all don't have a videographer I definitely recommend you reaching out to Scottie and saying hi! I know there are a ton of videographers out there so whatever decision you make I'm sure will be a great one, but if you can squeeze it out and save a bit of extra money here and there you can make it happen! (I have to admit we used some of our wedding money to help pay and that was a great gift to ourselves!!) 

Feel free to leave some love about the video and your thoughts, I'd LOVE to hear!!

xoxo,
mrs. a.  

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Hubby and I are spending our 4th Christmas together this year and first as a married couple obviously but we are so excited to continue old traditions and begin new ones together.

We've always bought our tree from a school organization and this year we weren't even sure if we'd have room for a tree because our apartment was such a wreck after the wedding but after a lot of cleaning and reorganizing the place looks great and we went to our local farmers market and picked out our tree!!

Obviously the PERFECT tree! p.s. check out that ring bling!

Once we got home we decorated our tree! We used the new set of ornaments mom got us to signify our "just married" status! I was super excited to put these up. Every year we get a new glass ornament to add to the tree so those were the addition for this year. We also registered for this awesome tree skirt from Pottery Barn and our awesome friends who are less than two weeks away from tying the knot themselves, gifted us with our new tree skirt! I'm so excited about it because it really can be a keepsake forever. 

excuse the iPhone quality photos
 

insta mashup of the christmas cheer!

 

Then on Monday night we went to the Carolina Inn for the Southern Weddings "Gingerbread Barn Building Competition"! It was really fun to meet the ladies finally and participate in such a fun event. I really hope we can do it every year. I don't think I had ever even built a gingerbread house before?! I recommend anyone in the Triangle go out next year and join in on the fun. It's such a unique event!

 

our awesome gingerbread building team & completed barn!!

So far we're really enjoying the holidays. It's just hard to get into the swing of the holidays after being in the Caribbean for 8 nights and then coming home to 72 degree weather for the beginning of December.. Oh North Carolina, how I love thee!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays thus far!

xoxo

mrs. a.  

Saying Yes to the Dress: Nitsa's

My journey to Nitsa's happened after all the experiences in Raleigh and feeling like I was coming up short. I felt like I had been listening to so many others opinions and neglecting my own so I decided to go to Nitsa's in Winston-Salem on my own while visiting our MIL in Greensboro. Nitsa's was the same salon my mom and I went to in Charlotte and tried my first ever Amsale gowns there so I knew I'd probably like something there!

I arrived there for my appointment and went around selecting some gowns and I was still pretty much considering any type of dress because I had not felt that anything looked better than the other. I tried some Vera, Monique, Alyne, Pronovias, Kenneth Poole and Amsale of course. For me the easiest process of dress shopping was saying NO. I could easily tell you I did not like something! 

I finally tried on a Pronovias gown that I was really interested in. It has some lace which mom liked and it had small sleeves, which I was really considering. It was very pretty and slimming but pretty heavy and needed a LOT of alterations which was a little off-putting to me, but I honestly really liked the gown! It was at the top of my list there!

Pronovias gown similar to the one I liked

After I tried this gown I went back out and looked at the racks. (Sorry I don't have a picture but for some reason the Nitsa's in Winston-Salem doesn't allow photos?!) Previously, mom had given me a budget and there was an Amsale gown that was a little over and I had faith that if it was wonderful we could maybe wiggle it out. I slipped it on and immediately knew there was something about this gown. It fit with my venue I had selected, a modern loft for that New York bride feel, and it was comfortable, different, unique and had pockets!!

I guess I should also preface the fact that Hubby wanted no lace, strapless, and my boobs to look good in a dress (I know right?!) and this dress had all those characteristics! Score one for me. I really liked the dress, I'm not sure if I LOVED it but I really liked it, I really lit up and felt comfortable in the dress. It also fit like a glove!! No alterations except a little hem, what could be more perfect?! All I had to do was get mom back to see the dress!!

I brought mom back a few weeks later and tried the two gowns that I ranked up there, the Pronovias and the Amsale, and the Pronovias was first and mom was not crazy about it. Then I tried the Amsale and I just knew deep down that was my dress. I wasn't overly emotional about it, but I just knew... I felt comfortable in it, it fit my venues, and more importantly it was unique and me!! I don't think my mom was ever over the moon about it, but I knew that this was the dress I was supposed to get married in!

Here it is... the Amsale Lauren I tried while at Nitsa's and when I finally said YES to THE dress!!

Like I said the sample fit pretty darn well so after we placed the order and waited 5 months I was pretty confident we wouldn't have to do much to the gown. We placed the order in August and it came in around January! It was exciting to get to try the gown on officially for the first time as mine though, and all that was left was a few minor length alterations to be had.

The above pictures were at my first official dress fitting! So exciting!! I loved the back and the simplicity and the gorgeous fabric. It was SO light weight!!

Final fitting and working on how we wanted to bustle the dress, after that she was mine to take home!

Well there you have it, my gown! Long story short though, I probably tried on 75ish dresses? Embarrassing, maybe a little? I just have to say that there are a lot of emotions and a lot of ideas of what someone may want for a dress, it may be perfect and what you had always imagined or it may be something completely different! I can't say that I never saw myself in a ballgown-esque dress but when I put it on it felt right! I did shed a tear or two when I said yes because I knew it was what I was going to get MARRIED in, but I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of joy in the dress. But after everything is said and done, I really did love the dress and Hubby loved the dress and that's all that matters too! No matter what the journey, frustrating, immediate, never ending, easy, it's all a process and it's all about what feels right to YOU and no one else too!! Don't ever forget that! So go for the dress that makes YOU happy and in the end you'll feel beautiful!!

xoxo,
mrs. a.

Dress Shopping: Local Bridal Salons

In Raleigh we have/had three very nice bridal salons. I worked across from Priscilla of Boston (now closed) so I popped in there to have a look a few times and picked out a few things that I liked until I had an appointment to try on. We also had three other salons in town, there is Alexia's who carries Vera Wang and Monique for starters, Traditions by Anna who carries most notably Romona Keveza and Rivini, and Victorian Rose who carries Jim Hjelm and Watters among others.

Right before I left for my trip to Chicago where we were engaged my mom and I walked by Traditions by Anna and saw they were having a sample sale so we called and made an appointment since I didn't know what a sample sale was all about. After I came back engaged it worked out perfectly! I was excited going to this salon because of designers Rivini and Romona Keveza. When we went to the sample sale I barely picked out about 5 dresses to try on. Nothing screamed ME and I did try a few but it was disheartening. They also didn't have the selection of styles I had in mind which was a huge disappointment but what are you going to do? It probably would've turned out the ones I loved online were over my budget anyway! Overall though, it was a very nice salon and the sales associates were very nice and friendly and I would definitely recommend it to bride's in the area. They do have a good selection of gowns, just nothing that was my personality. I did like one dress but there was definitely no "this is it" moment for sure.

 Rivini I liked.

We then had an appointment at Alexia's bridal salon which I have to speak very highly of. Although it's a high end salon (so verrrry pricey gowns) the customer service is wonderful, the dress selection is quite amazing and the process of selecting a gown through them would make it very enticing to purchase from them. I highly recommend anyone looking at that salon. That being said, I only really like one or two dresses sadly. Some were over the top on the budget and nothing really caught my eye, but mom fell in love with a dress here that she's never let go of.. 

 Again on the mermaid style with this Vera Wang I liked.

 The one mom fell in love for.. (awful picture..) Reem Acra

I really liked the Reem Acra but it just didn't feel right. Also I'm a big believer in what a dress looks like in a photo and in this photo, yuckies. (Also I'm glad I didn't choose the dress because I know two ladies who wore it in their wedding and I kept saying all along I just wanted to be different!)

So off I went to Victorian Rose.. By now y'all I'm sure I've tried on about 20 dresses.. YIKES! When I arrived to that salon my hopes started to diminish. Unfortunately the salon has great labels but takes horrible care of the dresses.. They were dirty and torn and the salon's staff is horrible and it's so unfortunate to walk in there after Alexia's and feel good about finding a dress. I tried on about 20 dresses there and just wanted to cry after being there. Nothing was right and the fabric started not to feel as nice, the lace not as pretty.. I was becoming too picky and that made me reallllly nervous!!

 Of course another one of mom's favorites.. I am not big on lace..

So on to Priscilla of Boston we go! The salon was absolutely pristine because it was about a year old and the dresses were gorgeous and immaculate. The staff was always friendly which made the experience very pleasant. I tried a few that were fun but still not the "one". Again mom fell in love..

Melissa Sweet (one of mom's favorites, which WAS quite pretty!)

 This fun little number allowed you to remove the skirt and

 it was a sparkled party dress underneath! Designed for POB.

I'm a little embarassed at how bad I look in these photos so excuse me.. But after all these visits and all the salons I was getting realllly bummed out. I felt like I was setting myself up for failure and that I was never going to find the right dress. I mean four salons, probably 10-20 dresses per salon, my number was getting up there. Ironically too, I think I went back to what I tried on the first time I ever stepped foot into a salon, an Amsale.. But I will save my final step of the journey for another post. All I have to say, is that sometimes this process can be a little discerning and it may be hard to find the right dress or you may not ever have that crying moment but there will most likely be a dress that you just feel comfortable in and that's the most important thing! No matter what, once you have your hair done, makeup on and that crazy happy smile on your wedding day, you'll be GORGEOUS!

:)

xoxo,

mrs. a.

Wedding Dress Searching

I can't go into this post saying I had a definite "clear" vision of what I wanted but there were some dresses that really inspired me upon going shopping. I also had some criteria that it had to be something that was:

  

-  unique

- stylish

- timeless

- glamorous

- and me!

I knew going into the wedding that my vision was "city chic", so not overly country or classic but a nice mix. I really wanted to epitomize a New York bride even if I do live in North Carolina.

I do had to admit that my mom took me shopping before we were engaged so I had a bit of an idea of what I wanted but what I wanted wasn't necessarily what mom wanted, and y'all know from watching "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta" if momma isn't happy, you probably aren't going to be happy either! 

Here are some that I tried that I liked before the engagement that mom was on the fence about.. Excuse any bad appearances..

 Amsale

 Ines di Santo

I was kind of digging on the body hugging style originally but I did try some ballgown-esque dresses that I quite liked:

 Amsale

  Kenneth Poole

With all of those in mind after my first ever stop into a bridal salon when I DID get engaged I had a few more picked out in my mind but I was completely open to trying on anything they had because I knew this was one of the most important decisions of the whole wedding itself and that was SO stressful for me!

I'll be back with a break down of salons and dresses that I tried on that I did like and how I landed with the dress I did.

Happy Monday!

xoxo,

mrs. a. 

Cyber Sales

I wanted to drop in and let all my brides-to-be know that Kate Spade is having a cyber sale that started today with up to 75% off their merchandise and I spy little white dresses, shoes and jewelry that someone may be interested! Check it out below!

Happy Shopping!
xoxo,
mrs. a.

I'm BACK!

I hope y'all didn't miss me too much but... 

I'm back, I'm MARRIED and I'm tan! WOO!

But really, our wedding was amazing! Hubby and I woke up the next day and he said "Let's do it again!", and I thought, for sure!! All the stress was definitely worth the result. I don't have any professional pictures yet so I don't want to share anything too much yet until I get to see them but I do plan on informing you all of the details of finding the right dress, the honeymoon, and other fun details! In the mean time I'll leave you with a honeymoon sneak peek and I'll start fresh Monday with a post on hunting for the perfect dress!!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend! We're off to see the WOLFPACK play!
xoxo,
mrs. a. 

And I'm leaving on a jet plane!

WE'RE MARRIED!!!!! WOO HOO!!! 

We are leaving bright and early this morning for 8 wonderful nights to the Caribbean island of Antigua! I shall miss you all but look forward to recapping all the amazing events that our wedding was and that I'm sure our honeymoon shall be! Hope y'all enjoy the sneak peek!

xoxo,
MRS. a.