wedding bells

When we decided to go with The Sutherland as our venue, we noticed that there is a big, ancient bell next to the cabin where the groom and groomsmen get ready. (While some smaller weddings do happen in front of the cabin, we will be getting married in the walled garden).

Since we're not getting married in a church, I think it would be fun to ring the bell after we are married, though Matt has his heart set on ringing it for me to come out. :)

my engagement ring

I realized that while I've talked about my engagement, I never mentioned my engagement ring! 

Matt is not a fan of going ring shopping together, and so when he decided that he was going to propose, he did extensive research on diamonds, ring styles, etc. by himself. He definitely knows more than I do about the topic! The problem is, I'm not a big jewelry-wearer. I'll wear a statement necklace,  and Matt just got me a pretty Kate Spade watch for my birthday, but other than that, I'm a no frills kind of girl when it comes to accessories. 

I am still a girl, though, and can appreciate a pretty engagement ring.

So while my laid back attitude toward jewelry gave Matt free reign on style, it left him stumped on my ring size. So, he had to guess - and do a bit of thievery by taking the one ring I have in my jewelry box and secreting it away (I did not miss it). He was pretty close - I had to get it sized down a bit after we got back from Disney World, but I was still able to wear it without fear of it falling off my finger.

And here is what he designed!

It's simple, beautiful, and has a cathedral setting with two small diamonds on either side - in other words, it's perfect. 

As for the metal, it's white gold, which I have always been a fan of more so than yellow gold, but I think I'm changing my tune a bit - especially since it's one of the wedding colors!

For those of you who are engaged, what does your engagement ring look like?

wedding planning update: 4+ months to go

We have less than five months to go!!

Since my last update...

- I started the search for invitations, picked a designer, and started working on proofs

- Had a cake tasting and picked a wedding cake!

- Starting putting ideas together for wedding welcome bags

- I'm almost finished putting together the bridesmaid gifts; they should be done next month!

- Purchased wedding day undergarments

- Started compiling reception and ceremony details (centerpieces, votives, signs, etc.)

- Took dance lessons for our first dance and sent DJ other song choices

- Booked a calligrapher

- Purchased wedding rings!

- Figured out the beer choices for the reception

- Scheduled my first dress fitting!

- Finalized our registry picks

- Purchased wedding day jewelry

- Started thinking about ceremony readings

Next up on the list?

- Purchase the guy's attire, which all hinges on when J Crew releases their Spring/Summer line; I've been checking the website like a crazy person and also talking to a wedding coordinator

- I want to start collecting items for my honeymoon, including some new monogrammed Jack Rogers

- Finish up the bridesmaid gifts

- Gather the rest of the reception and ceremony details, including table signage, centerpieces, and cocktail napkins

- Approve an invitation design and send it off to the printer

- Finalize a wedding cake design

found a florist

I think out of all the vendors, finding a florist was one of the harder decisions. I didn't really have an idea in mind of what I wanted. I don’t have a green thumb (quite the opposite, actually), and all flowers look gorgeous to me, but there was one that I wanted, and always have wanted – peonies.

I was very clueless at how much wedding flowers actually cost, and so decided to look at a few different florists to get a range over what is considered acceptable for wedding flowers.

On a side note: isn’t it crazy how planning a wedding can make a significant sum of money seem insubstantial? Like in what universe but in wedding world does the thought, “Oh, it’s only $1,500? That’s not bad,” ever seem normal?

Since there seem like an infinite number of florists in the Raleigh area, I decided to narrow my search based on reviews, recommendations, and my own personal style. Just like with every other vendor, I learned quickly that I did indeed had a preference, and the arrangements that were less uniform and more like how flowers grow in nature was what I was drawn to. You can see some examples of what I mean here and here.

I focused in on three florists: Fresh Affairs (given top reviews), Expressions of Love (a recommendation), and Eclectic Sage. I met the owner of Eclectic Sage, Heather Ann Miller, at a bridal show.

I decided to go with Eclectic Sage for a few different reasons:

• She seemed more willing to work to create beautiful florals within my budget
• Her vision for my wedding aligned with mine
• Her previous work matched my style

I found that more so with any other vendor, my parents and I worked with arranging my vision for the flowers with the budget. You can go crazy with flowers, so I think it is important to have a set budget in mind when it comes to a florist. It seems that working within a budget is more feasible with florists than with other vendors – there are many ways that you can substitute, add less, tweak styles, etc., than you can with, say, a DJ. This was crucial, as I discovered that peonies, the flowers that I wanted the most, are super expensive, even in season, which at the end of May they were.

photo by Kendall Lynette Photography & Design

photo by Kendall Lynette Photography & Design

Because of this, we decided to let the true focus of the wedding flowers be my bouquet, with big peonies in varying shades of pink. The bridesmaids will carry white bouquets made up of mostly roses, hydrangeas, and greenery, which will look nice with the dresses. Kasey, the Maid of Honor, will carry a smaller version of my bouquet, with white flowers to match the bridesmaids, but also to offset her from the other bridesmaids. The groomsmen will match the bridesmaids, with Matt matching myself.

photo by Kendall Lynette Photography & Design

For the centerpieces, since the linens are so soft (more on that in a later post), we decided to go with pink and white roses, hydrangeas, and greenery to brighten up the tables. The centerpiece for the sweetheart table will be my bouquet. I love the look of mercury glass, and I was able to find gold vessels in a compote bowl style and also as a square vase, to give some differing looks to the table. I didn't want to go with anything too high so that people could still talk to each other across the table. I don’t like the trumpet vase look, so that was nixed quickly.

We decided not to get flowers for the ceremony. The venue is gorgeous enough as it is!

Missed a Wedding Wednesday post? Here's our engagement story, choosing the colors, choosing the bridal party, picking the venue, ordering a wedding dress & shoes, and finding a photographer.

england & france vacation, part four

At this point in the trip we needed a bit of a break, especially since the following day we were getting up early (4am, to be exact), to take the Eurostar to France. We decided to have a bit of a low-key day, and hit up Abbey Road in the morning before heading to Piccadilly Circus for some shopping.

Abbey Road is not the quiet crosswalk that it seems on the Beatles album. It is a very busy street, which makes it all the more hilarious when tourists are trying to recreate the album cover. I don’t think we ever managed to get a good shot of all of us walking across the street, but it was fun to visit.

After that, we stopped at a two-story (!) Lush Cosmetics in Piccadilly Circus. Having worked at Lush a few years ago, I loved stopping by a store in England. It would have been cool to see the first store ever, but maybe on my next trip!

We ate lunch at Speedy’s, which has been made famous by BBC’s TV show Sherlock. On the show, 22B Baker Street is next store to the deli, but in reality it’s a private residence, nowhere near Baker Street. I’m sure that the people who live there are just thrilled at the amount of tourists taking pictures of their front door! #sarcasm

During lunch, we learned that we weren’t far from The British Museum, which is home to the Rosetta Stone, so we did the quickest museum visit ever to catch a glimpse and take some pictures.

Since it was our last day in England, we decided to take a double-decker bus to dinner at The Sherlock Holmes Restaurant for a last meal of fish and chips and a cold beer. We sat in the front on the second floor, and it was quite an experience to see our driver navigate the tiny streets of London during rush hour.

We went to bed soon after dinner to prepare for our early wake-up and France in the morning.

Missed a post from my England & France vacation? Here’s part one, part two, and part three.

november favorites

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week? Here's what I've been loving this month:

Burt's Bees lip crayon // I am a sucker for lip products, and I love Burt's Bees (they are local!). Lip crayons are everywhere right now, but I wanted to try a brand with natural ingredients. The lip crayon allows for more control during application, and the matte finish is perfect for a subtle shade or a dramatic lip.

Southern Weddings magazine // This magazine has been my go-to for wedding inspiration this month. I'm proud to be a featured Southern Bride Blogger, too!

dELiA*s Meow Loafer // I have lusted after a pair of Charlotte Olympia Kitty Flats ever since I saw Taylor Swift wearing them. After those flats came up once again on my Instagram feed, I decided to see if I could find a pair of knock-offs that were passable. I haven't shopped at dELiA*s since I was in high school, maybe even middle school, so it was a shock to me to find an almost identical pair on their site - for $15!

Serial podcast // This has been on for more than the month of November, so I know that I am late to the party, but wow, is this good. I'm not one that listens to podcasts, but I decided to give it a go after hearing so much hype about it. It's about the true story of a murder that happened 15 years ago in Baltimore, when Hae Min Lee disappeared after school, her body discovered days later in a nearby park, and her boyfriend Adnan Sayid charged with the crime.

Essie's Chinchilly nail polish // This bluish-gray shade is the perfect fall color, and neutral enough that it can go with virtually anything. It's one of those shades that I rediscover every year.

What are your November favorites?

found a photographer

Finding a good wedding photographer was very important to me. I had read numerous articles, blog posts, etc. about how the wedding photographer is one of the most important people on your wedding day – after all, they are the only vendor that provides you with a lasting keepsake of your wedding, so I wanted to get someone good.

But, wedding photography is EXPENSIVE. It can range from $2,000 upwards to $14,000, which is crazy. Though in my experience of looking at various photographers, you get what you pay for. This is something that you should make some cushion room in your budget, because it’s worth spending on. Like I said before, if you don’t have a videographer (we aren’t planning on getting one), then your photographs will be the only things you have to remember your wedding day. It was important to me not to chance it!

Before I dive into how I went about choosing a wedding photographer for me, I want to address why we’ve chosen not to get a videographer. Some people will read this and gasp, thinking we’ve made a big mistake, but a videographer to me seemed superfluous. Matt and I are not the type of people to sit around years later and reminisce about our wedding day by watching a video. We are both incredibly awkward people, and I think a video would just make us both uncomfortable. That’s not to say that we would never look back on our wedding day! I could totally see us looking through a photo album, or going through pictures on our phones.

With that all said, Matt and I did have a photographer do our engagement pictures (more on that later), but decided to find someone else with a bit more experience to photograph our wedding.

So, like I did with every other step of this wedding planning process, I started researching. And researching. And researching. I believe that in all I looked at different photographers for a couple weeks. All this researching helped me in two ways – I got a good idea of the range that I was comfortable in spending, and what style I was looking for.

I realized that I was drawn to photographs with lots of natural light, that weren’t staged or posed, and detail shots – I LOVE detail shots. I’m also interested in submitting my wedding in a wedding editorial like Southern Weddings, Style Me Pretty, or Green Wedding Shoes, so I was looking for someone who had their photos featured before.

Many, many photographers were just way too expensive, or weren’t in the style that I was looking for, but there were two that interested me – Brett & Jessica Photography and Emily March Photography.

They were both great in their own ways, and I had a hard time choosing between the two. In the end, I decided to go with Emily March Photography because her photographs looked more professional, more artistic – almost like something in an editorial magazine, she had a better eye for framing pictures, and the overall lighting and look of her photographs just resonated with me personally.

With Emily, her love of God shines through her pictures, and after speaking with her, I got the sense they she genuinely loves shooting weddings – she talked about why this was a passion of hers for most of our phone conversation, which I loved! She understands marriage from a biblical aspect, and her photographs reflect that.

I know that a lot of people recommend scheduling a shoot with the photographer before the actual wedding day (Emily included), but since we already had engagement photos done, it seemed a bit redundant to have them re-shot. For a few weeks I threw around the idea of bridal portraits, as well.

It seems that bridal portraits (having a photoshoot of the bride’s hair, makeup, dress, and bouquet before the wedding, to be displayed at the reception) are something that is a southern tradition. Growing up in New Jersey, I never attended a wedding with a bridal portrait, but I have been to weddings down south with them.

I emailed Emily about her thoughts. She sent me a link to a great post about the benefits of a bridal session, but in the end I decided that it wasn’t something for me, mostly because of the budget (and I was also afraid of getting my pretty dress ruined before the big day – I am that kind of person). There are a few things when it comes to weddings that you can cut out and no one is going to think anything of it – I felt like bridal portraits were one of those things.

Missed a wedding Wednesday post? Here's our engagement story, choosing the colors, choosing the bridal party, picking the venue, and ordering a wedding dress & shoes.