Gift Guide: For Him

Here is a gift guide for your favorite guy!

 

1. Engineer Boots 2. Double Cable Knit Eternity Scarf 3. Levi's Charlie Denim Jacket  4. The Agent Three-Hand Leather Watch 5. Portable Turntable 6. The Gaslight Anthem- '59 Sound Record 7. Market Printed Growler 8. Herschel Supply Co. Hank Wallet 9. Dapper Dopp Kit 10. Shwood Canby Sunglasses

-xo

Gift Guide: For Her

Here is just a quick gift guide for the special ladies in your life.

1. "Pretty Thoughts" Gold Foil Notebook 2.Delfonics Pen 3. Canon Powershot G-16 4. Baggu Leather Pouch 5. Black Leather Tassel Keychain 6. Meow i Phone 5 Case 7. Horizontal Arrow Necklace 8. Sofia Mini 4-Pack 9. Elf Wine Stopper 10. On the Road: The Original Scroll 11. Embellished Rib-Knit Earwarmer 12. Cold Picnic Colorblock Printed Leather Watch

-xo

Bah-Humbug

So November came and went and December seems to be doing the same. I am so far behind on so many things, this blog for starters, actually planning our wedding, decorating for the holidays, Christmas card making, holiday shopping, life in general, the list goes on....
It's something about this year that I just feel kind of bah-humbug-y and I think its because time is just flying by-I think I’ll blink and Christmas will be over, without having a chance to enjoy anything! To help myself get in the Christmas holiday mood I compiled a list, a list that is pretty essential to my holiday spirit meter- a Holiday Movies List! Lists make me feel less stressed and more in control. Any way without further ado-

Christmas Movies List
1. Love Actually
2. Home Alone
3. Home Alone: Lost in New York
4. The Santa Claus
5. The Santa Claus 2
6. The Santa Claus 3 (YES ALL THREE MUST BE WATCHED)
7. Fred Claus
8. Elf
9. Nightmare Before Christmas
10. It's a Wonderful Life
11. The Polar Express
12. A Charlie Brown Christmas
13. Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
14. Santa Claus is coming to Town
15. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
16. The Muppets Christmas Carole
17. A Christmas Story
18. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
19. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
20. The Shop Around the Corner
21. Rare Exports
22. Lethal Weapon
23. Bad Santa
24. Gremlins
25. Four Christmases

Enjoy! I hope you're feeling more merry and bright than I have been!

-xo

11 Months!!

So I've been bad. I've been very bad.
I haven't kept up with this at all. But I promise that is all about to change.

In other news- today marks 11 months until our wedding, that is crazy! I can't believe how fast time is actually flying. 

Coming up, an update on life and wedding plans!

Please stay tuned.....

Bridesmaids Dress Inspiration

So now that you know who will be my bridesmaids, its time to discuss what they will be wearing!
The four of us have been throwing around ideas and inspiration from all over the interweb, and upon recent realization, have come to the conclusion that: we are all too agreeable for our own good! We love all the dresses! So in light of that I decided to have an OCD, crazy bride moment and put together a board of all the dresses we really liked thus far...

1. Amsale  Chiffon G533C - in black http://amsale.com/bridesmaids/#chiffon-g533c
2. ASOS Warehouse Lace Insert Mesh Dress w/ Hi Lo Hem http://us.asos.com/Warehouse-Lace-Insert-Mesh-Dress-with-Hi-Lo-Hem/z78iu/?iid=2691844&cid=5235&Rf-200=4&sh=0&pge=1&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Black&xr=2&r=1&mk=VOID&mporgp=L1dhcmVob3VzZS9XYXJlaG91c2UtTGFjZS1JbnNlcnQtTWVzaC1EcmVzcy13aXRoLUhpLUxvLUhlbS9Qcm9kLw
3. ASOS Warehouse Lace Bodice Dress- http://us.asos.com/Warehouse-Lace-Bodice-Dress/z2n9b/?iid=2681828&cid=5235&Rf-200=4&sh=0&pge=5&pgesize=200&sort=-1&clr=Black&xr=2&r=1&mk=VOID&mporgp=L1dhcmVob3VzZS9XYXJlaG91c2UtTGFjZS1Cb2RpY2UtRHJlc3MvUHJvZC8
4. Shabby Apple Mullolland Dress - http://www.shabbyapple.com/p-1295-mulholland.aspx 
5. Free People Floral Mesh Lace Dress - http://www.freepeople.com/clothes-dresses-shop-by-event/floral-mesh-lace-dress/ 
6. Free People Sleeveless Miles of Lace Dress - http://www.freepeople.com/clothes-dresses/sleeveless-miles-of-lace-dress/ 
7. Free People Rocco Dress- http://www.freepeople.com/clothes-dresses/rocco-dress/_/productOptionIDS/0B6E9CAD-A8F4-4CCF-8A37-466219F4EA95/
8. Ruche- Verbena Dress http://shopruche.com/verbena-dress.html 
9. Dessy Collection Style 2880 - http://www.dessy.com/dresses/bridesmaid/2880/?color=black&colorid=123#.UUSqqqWob-l 
10. Cache` Noir/Black Lace Sheath Dress w/ Ribbon Belt- http://www.cache.com/detail/lace-sheath-dress-with-ribbon-belt/S5030B22013080/09 
11. Cache’ Dress

Our general consensus was that the dress will be short, lacy and black!

And I think that is a good starting point.

What do you think? Did your bridesmaids and you all agree on the dresses or was it difficult to find one type of dress they would wear?

-xo

Saying Yes to THE Dress

As I mentioned in an earlier post- I have said Yes to THE Dress!!
It was one of the first dresses I had tried on and no other dress compared- obviously it makes me feel like a bride :')

Although I found my dress online and fell instantly in love with it- there was a LOT of internut browsing! So a dress inspiration board! See if you can guess which one is mine!

1. Jenny Packham - Willow
2. BHLDN - Aiguille Gown
3. Melissa Sweet Gown from David's Bridal
4. Anaessia - Sunflower Lace Gown
5. White By Vera Wang at David's Bridal
6. Jenny Packham - Azalea
7. Jenny Packham - Aspen
8. Claire Pettibone - Mademoiselle
9. Ann Taylor - Grosgrain Ribbon Strapless Wedding Dress

My dress shopping experience was a memorable one- I brought my Mom and sister (who is also my maid of honor!!) And we had a blast! I tried on a bunch of dresses, just to make sure the ONE was actually the one (it was). And by the end of the appointment I had a dress! I feel like finding my dress was the easy part though; right now I am in the midst of trying to find a bridesmaids dress for my ladies- but we are all so darned agreeable that its tough to decide on just one- because we love all of them- haha!

Did it take forever for you to 'Say Yes to the Dress' or did you just know right away?

As always,
-xo

The Bridesmaids!

So now that I have asked all (lol theres only 3!) of my bridesmaids/MOH to be in our wedding its time to show off how I asked them and who they are! 

And there it is! I decided to make simple, pretty kraft paper cards with a personal note inside each one.

Taylor, Laura and Dana are my closest and best friends (aside from my fiance` of course!) and I couldn't imagine walking down the aisle without them! They are each unique, intelligent, quirky, funny, kind, amazing, wonderful women and I am too delighted that they will be in our bridal party.

Taylor, my sister- will be my Maid of Honor! What can I say about Taylor- only that she is the best sister a girl could ask for. No matter what she always has my back, (and I of course always have hers)- we are sisters, so we always look out for one another. Shes crazy and funny, and the most caring person I have ever met. She's also a super talented rock star!

Bridesmaid Laura- We met my sophmore year in college and have been best friends since. My fondest memories of college all include her- like all the times we spent having deep conversations in 'The Rat', or playing with mustaches, or that time we went to a concert and she sang on stage with our favorite band! (She is also a super talented rockstar). She is the Daria to my Jane.

Bridesmaid Dana- We met in high school, and it baffles me that it took until last year for us to get close. What can I say, Dana just gets me! We have too much fun double dating with our guys, and having life affirming conversations over starbucks coffee. Although it took us forever to realize that we should have been friends all along- I can't imagine doing this without her.

I love these ladies and I am so incredibly honored to have them by my side!

What do you think? Did you ask your bridal party in a special way?

-xo

Typeface Lovers, Please Stand Up!

*stands up*
It must be said that I spend a majority of my time looking at fonts...
I'm enthralled with how a word can be so drastically changed by the look of a font treatment. Which is why, to no ones surprise that I was seriously stressing over which font would be used for all of our wedding stationery needs! There were so many options, I could do a pretty, fun cursive; or a skinny lettered sans-serif hand written font, or a block font, or a handwritten cursive, or a combo of the two! And each different kind of font would have said something different about us as a couple!! So maybe I stressed over which font we would be using a little TOO much, but after all my searching I finally found the perfect font for us.

So before I show you the font, here were a few contenders:

Carolyna Pro Black

Jane Austen

Jacques & Giles

Some Weatz Swashes

Amatic SC

Comic Zine

Efforesce

Peony Pro

 and finally drumroll please......Our Font:

Bombshell!

See that right there? This is our wedding font!! This typeface was exactly what I was looking for, handwritten, cursive, elegant, and a bit timeless. I couldn't be happier with our font choice.

How about you, did you endlessly search for the perfect font? 

-xo

Finding the Venue

Shortly after we got engaged (well actually like two weeks after we got engaged) we booked our venue! I know that sounds crazy and a little premature but we knew where we wanted to have our wedding! And figured, why not?

Many of our special moments have happened in Clove Lakes Park, we've went on dates there, spent countless hours roaming through it, and over the years those trees became our park. We even got engaged there! So it only seemed fitting that this cute little venue on its own private island-bridge in the middle of the park was the place we would have our wedding.

So without further ado-
We are getting married at The Lake Club!

 The outside looks super pretty at sunset, with all the lights strung around it.

And this is what it looks like inside all dolled up for a wedding!

Whenever I see these pictures there is this little voice in my head that goes- 'This is where we are getting married! This is where we are getting married! This is where we are getting married!'

I am over the moon excited about our venue- and I know the future mister is too! It means alot to us that we get to celebrate one of the most special moments in our whole lives with our friends and family, in one of the most meaningful places to us. 

What about you, did you and your future mister know exactly where you wanted to get married? Or did you check out many venues until you found the perfect one?

-xo

Holiday Weekends

So this past long weekend was quite eventful! It was Valentine's Day and then it was my first time going to a Bridal Expo!

My forever Valentine treated me to banana ice cream-my favorite! And of course a beautiful lilac rose- (he knows me so well). And I made him cookie dough bites from scratch, inspired by my lovely bridesmaid Dana- (which he devoured haha!)
We spent the night just watching silly rom-coms and eating pasta. So perfect.

 And here is the link to the recipe I used, from Chef Chloe.

The Bridal Expo was also quite interesting. I took my parents, my sister and of course my fiance`- thinking that most people would do this...apparently not, in some cases the bride wasn't even there haha! It wasn't very big at all- but it definitely helped show the future mister and I exactly what we want and definitely don't want at our wedding; and also helped to give us a gauge on the cost of some things i.e- photographer, and DJ. Although the styling and things presented were not exactly my taste at all- It was still an enjoyable and informative experience and I even won a few raffles! (Yay free hair cut, free curling iron, free skin analysis, and free shoes!)
A few realizations the future mister and I came to is that certain things we don't want to sacrifice on, especially when the thing we really want is just as much as something that would be considered the norm but is not exactly what we are looking for. This was mainly about our photography decision. (more about this in a future post!) We also realized that although a DJ may be advertising that he plays mostly top 40, has two HUGE SCREEN TV's and lights to light an entire city, that doesn't always mean that that DJ won't cater to or work with your vision of what you want for your wedding. The fiance` and I had been particularly worried about this because there are certain songs we want to hear, and certain complete genres we don't want to hear on our wedding day- so it was relieving to hear that there are DJ's out there that will work with you!

Also there was a photobooth vendor there so we got to test it out!

I hope your Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend was just as good and love filled as mine!

-xo

Enjoying Being Engaged

Well its definitely been a while!!

The holidays have come and gone and I have neglected this lovely little blog, shame on me- but definitely NEVER again  :)

I guess a quick update is in order...

Since my last post here, a lot has happened: we have booked a venue, asked our closest and best friends to be in our bridal party, and I said yes to THE dress! (more about those in future blog posts) but mostly the future mister and I decided that we needed to slow down and just enjoy being engaged before everything gets super crazy! And we have definitely enjoyed some down time! The future Mister has been gearing up to start student teaching. It has been quite an adventure clothes shopping with him, who knew a guy could be more particular about the clothes he wears and more obsessed with bargain shopping then any woman I've ever met!! (Although he was very cute doing it!) Other than that we have enjoyed hanging out with friends and discovered a new love for crepes.

Here are some pictures for proof:

Us (on the left, with our good friends (also bridesmaid and best man!) Anthony & Dana, on a day trip to New Hope, PA.

We have been on a crepe eating binge. So far the best combo we found is fresh strawberries, bananas, maple syrup and home made whipped cream.

All in all it has been good to just sit back and relax and enjoy being engaged!

How about you, did you and your future hubby have time to enjoy this special time or did you dive head first into wedding planning?

-xo