#EmnBWed – December Update

It’s time for our monthly wedding update and the last one for 2016! With less than a year away and according to The Knot’s wedding checklist I think we’re doing pretty good, especially with those “Essential” tasks.

Within the last few months we were able to accomplish;
– Venue = Booked
– Church = Booked
– Caterer = Booked
– Wedding Dress = Bought
– Rings = Purchased
– Hotel Block = Reserved
– Invitations = Being Designed
– Photographer = Secured
– Cake = Figured out

What else is there to do? *smiles* … But in all seriousness we are both feeling really good going into 2017 to be full-on wedding planning mode, with some fun and breaks in between! A few things we’ll be continuously working on/really need to get started on is working out and getting in shape, whitening our pearly whites, and slowly buying some of the little details as we find them and go.

With that being said going into our wedding year,  I would love some ADVICE from any current brides planning their big day or all you veterans out there with anything you learned, would’ve done differently, cut costs on, etc.

This past year has been a whirlwind and I just know this upcoming year is going to be pretty much the same (if not worse!) and I want to enjoy every single moment of it, because 2016 was amazing.

XO —

#EmnBWed – October Update

Did my last wedding update scare a few of you? Have you been waiting anxiously for my next update, in fear of asking me in person? *winks*

Well we went to Jackson Hole this past August, mainly to plan our wedding. We really wanted to go the nontraditional route with a smaller destination wedding, something intimate, something different and in a place we both love. Something about us and not everyone else.

We went and met with florists, had a meal tasting at the venue, met with and visited the church. The details were nearly finalized, we just wanted to see everything in person and then make some deposits to secure the venues and date!  Our dream wedding out west was becoming reality, a reality I never thought was possible. There were a few bumps, a few stubborn people with opinions (not comprehending our initial intention or wishes – hence the September Update), we went back and forth on some details, the guest list and did the final number crunching.

But something was off. Delay of planning once again.

Fast forward to a few weekends post JH and days after my last update. We went to visit a venue in CLE we had made plans to see a long time ago anticipating a CLE reception post intimate JH wedding.

Are you staying with me?

So we visited this local venue and everything changed. I didn’t think I would get goosebumps walking into a venue, but I did, and I had them the whole time. We left there, looked at each other and both said, “Well that has to happen.” We both fell in love all over again.

Of all the things that had been unsure until that point, we had one moment of clarity and a moment in all of this when we just knew.

Plans had changed and planning was back on. We were going all in.

Photo credit: Timothy Logan Photography

Latest Obsessions: August Edition

Starting out on the first Friday of August, here’s what I am obsessed with lately!  Even though it seems like summer is coming to an end, it still feels like we are just getting started and have a lot more hot days and weekends to enjoy! So I hope you enjoy and share in some of these latest obsessions.

Kate Spade: Outdoor & Home
I first saw some of these gems at a Hallmark on steroids on our Denver trip.  It was the Hallmark location in Cherry Creek. And it was amazing! I also thought the plastic cups with fun lemon patterns, polka dots and other bright patterned pieces were perfect, especially for summer. I don’t know if I would actually spend the money on these, but I feel like everyone needs a good set of entertaining plastics ‘glasses’ or wine glasses.  And everything else is just too cute and perfect to keep summer lasting!

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05

Our Engagement Pictures
We have been getting teased with small batches of our engagement pictures since we first had them done in mid-June.  It’s been a little torturous waiting to see what the rest look like after getting teased with the first 5 and then a week later 5 more… but they have definitely been worth the wait! I received the latest batch of the most current and I honestly can’t stop staring at them. I’m a hypocrite for mocking every other bride-to-be who posted a million engagement pictures one right after the other on social… so I am definitely pacing myself from blasting them all! So you all get the first peak of the next batch. *smiles*

Photo credit: timothylogan.com 

Silver Picture Frames
Sooo… Marshall’s has been killing it with elegant, classic silver frames lately.  I first bought a few for my mom and FMIL to give them a picture of when B and I got engaged, but now that we have these awesome engagement photos coming in I need more! The pictures just pop in the frames whether its a color or  black & white photo. I was half tempted to buy all new frames for our living room, but quickly realized that was a bit ridiculous … but maybe it’ll still happen.

What’ve you been obsessing over lately? Leave a comment below & let me know!

TGIF!

#EmnBWed – The Date

Woah, it’s August 1st!  Where has the summer gone? Where has 2016 gone? I can’t believe it!

It was late-May that B and I decided on a date, August XX 2017, and it seemed like a long ways away, but now that it’s August 1st, we are inching closer to the year-mark. Ah!  It always seemed like we had more than enough time to plan and figure things out.  But now it definitely feels like it’s go time. I know this next year is going to fly by.  The good news is we’ve made some, in my opinion, serious progress over this past weekend!  Go us!

Photo cred: Timothy Logan Photography

Now, I’m not going to give out specifics because that would be too easy, I need to build the suspense for all of you.  But things are definitely cranking and over this next month I know a few other details and specifics will be finalized.  B and I are both getting excited, and I love that B is getting excited, involved and helping make decisions.

As we’ve started figuring out a few details, a million other little ones seem to pop up in it’s path… and as I start exploring those little paths the price tags keep adding up, a couple grand here, a couple more over there… there are a few things we will definitely need to be creative with and already have some ideas on how to do just that.  I can’t wait to share those little details once we get a few more of the bigger ones finalized.

Part of me, is ready to get this done and marry B, and just elope.  Another part of me is so excited to see our dreams come to life for our special day. So I think I’m going to wait and take the ladder.

Cheers to August!

Wedding Plans – An Update

Now that it’s officially June – I figured I would start sharing and writing a little more about our wedding planning (or lack thereof).  If you remember, I wanted to wait awhile before we started planning since I feel like a lot of couples rush into it, and don’t actually enjoy being engaged or take advantage of it! (I might be taking a little too much advantage of it :])

Source: Style Me Pretty

So here is the thing I’ve learned with the tiny bit of “planning” aka research I’ve done so far… EVERYTHING IS SO MUCH MONEY.

Period, end of story, done.

Source: Wedding Chicks http://static.weddingchicks.com/2015/11/18/red-fall-winery-wedding/

Source: Tessa Barton http://tessa-barton.blogspot.com/search/label/Wedding

But seriously, I truly can’t believe or fathom spending that kind of serious cash on ONE DAY. Granted it’s a day of celebration and the start of a new journey, but it’s just crazy to me, there are SO MANY OTHER THINGS, I would much rather spend that money on. Don’t even ask what, because the list will be endless. I don’t even want my parents to spend that much money on our wedding either – it’s crazy! Unless Donald Trump wants to pay for our wedding, it’s hard to reason it all.

Long story short, there has been no wedding planning, just a lot of chats to try and figure out what sort of direction we want to go in (small, large, or half-half).  We were set on one direction, but the more I started researching and vetting out options, the less interested I’ve become, mainly because it doesn’t seem like it’ll save any money, and would be more involved from planning. So I truly just don’t know what to do. B and I have a few more chats that need to happen, I am thinking an evening or afternoon with some continuous beers will help make some decision, and then of course sticking to it.

One of these days, I’ll actually have something solid to report back on. The only thing we have planned right now is our engagement pictures… so stay tuned for a first look at those in the next few weeks!