6.29.2011

wedding wednesday: picture perfect

I'm certainly a picture lover. My desk and dresser function more as photo galleries than study and storage space. I spent what D calls "our entire life savings" [slight exaggeration] on my first child. I mean...my camera. 

I'm thankful that our photographer, Kevin Beasley, is such a dear friend of the family. He knows and loves us so well, and I know he'll capture the big day perfectly. For me, it might be a little more important than it should be. Or at least more important than others think it is. No pressure, Kev.

I want to remember the moments and details of this predicted best-day-of-our-lives-so-far. I want to be able to see what my dress and shoes and flowers looked like after they are old and yellowed. I want pictures surrounded by family and friends before I don't have them all in the same place for a long time. I want photographs packed with emotion and light and love. I want a ruggedly handsome picture of my new hubby while he's got lots of lovely hair. [Though I'll still think he's handsome when he has no hair at all]. I want to, one day, be able to snuggle up to some soft-skinned granddaughters and stinky grandsons and tell them, over and over again, about the day that we got married. About how we didn't think we could love one another any more than we did way back on August 6, 2011. About how wrong we were about that.

So, for this Wednesday, I thought I'd dig into my "Wedding Ideas" vault and pull out some pictures of other's big days. Here are my faves:


6.22.2011

wedding wednesday: you're gonna thank me

The blog - it just didn't happen today. But I didn't want to leave you totally wedding-less.

You can blame it on packing for a wedding-weekend at home (first shower and family time! YEA!) or finishing up some projects (photos coming soon) or my new duty at the Governor's office that has me up before the sun.


But, trust me, you are going to thank me for this break.

Meet my roommate and bridesmaid and favorite funny-girl in one of our favorite thrift store finds:





Told you that you'd thank me. So much better than a little more rambling about wedding business?

Back next week. Or maybe earlier!

6.18.2011

table for two

The first birthday that I celebrated with the future hubs, I was still really horrible at this shopping-for-boys-who-don't-like-stuff thing. Still not great at it, to be honest. So, along with a few other ideas, I did the whole dinner and a movie coupon. Since it's been a while, I went ahead and redeemed it for him for Friday date night. He deserves it, you know? One of the hardest workers I've ever known. And I could always use some cooking practice since the year-one budget doesn't allow for too much eating out.

I don't want to brag or anything, but it was pretty de-lish. That's why I wanted to share this fool proof, pretty healthy meal with y'all. In the 8:30-5 life, I had to cook fast, so I didn't take any step-by-step pics, but here's some info about the final outcome. 

Marinated grilled chicken with tomato basil sauce, grilled asparagus, and smothered with fresh mozzarella. Paired with whole wheat rotini tossed with olive oil, chopped basil, and minced garlic. 


I marinated the chicken with the best and easiest marinade for about 20 hours in the fridge: equal parts soy sauce and zesty italian dressing, salt and pepper. The asparagus was grilled on the Foreman with olive oil and sliced garlic cloves. Then you just pile it all up and stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes on 350. 

Please ignore the extra-thick slice of mozzarella that may have killed the healthiness of the dish. I was hoping to cut it a little smaller and thinner, but our college apartment hand-me-down knives didn't do the trick. I gotta tell you, those knives on our wedding registry are one of my most coveted potential possessions.

For my little bit fancy (but still easy) salad, I used endive, chopped apple, goat cheese, pecan, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. There was a little bread and herb-dipping sauce, too. But that's a given.


And our little dessert-splurge. I told D to ignore the sounds of the prepackaging as I got it out of the fridge. Whole Foods knows how to make a mean fruit tart. 






Happy as a clam:






































And I got a little thank-you-for-cooking surprise. If I were a chef, I'd like to get paid in peonies. 


6.15.2011

wedding wednesday: signage

There are so many ideas rolling through the WWW (that's world wide web) of new and unique ways for your guests to sign your guest book. Especially on Etsy and Pinterest. Two of my weaknesses. And most of them aren't actually books. More like tree stumps. Or furniture. You name it, really.
So I thought I'd save you the Googling trouble and gather a few of the most presh ideas out there. You can thank me later. 



  • Sweet and customizable silhouette poster.
  • Martha Stewart's free customizable pdf so that you can print your own poster. What a generous soul.
  • Balloon thumbprints - a twist on the ever-so-popular thumbprint tree.
  • Sign-able platter. A pretty cute idea, but I might feel bad serving up some hamburgers on my wonderful guests' names. 
  • THE thumbprint tree. Yes, a big trend. But I'm still totally enamored. 
  • The other tree idea - a wishing tree. This was a big hit at my dear friend Nat's wedding. 
  • And, a personal favorite, having your guests sign a piece of furniture (I would go outdoor) that you can shellac and keep for-ev-er.

6.11.2011

nesting

The future hubs and I checked out a potential first-home this morning. Exciting! It will certainly be quaint. And by quaint I mean small and a little crusty-old. But that just adds to the fun of making it feel like a home! As excited I've been for the wedding, I feel like I'm just as excited about the nesting that is to come. 

It got the brain ticking with decorating ideas, of course.

Here's a peek at my color/style inspiration. I'm hoping to find a happy medium (is it medium or median?) between the two. 



And this is what's on the wish list for our bedroom. 



Duvet (check!), shams, throw (check!), Mr. and Mrs. pillows (a coming DIY project), lamp (just inspiration), map

Don't worry...we'll get it all together so that you can come visit!

I'm not a big blog question ask-er. But, I do have one today. I'm just too curious - what makes you feel at home while you are away from home?

6.10.2011

newsies

It's the news in the home town today.

But not nearly as big as the new solar power projects or the peach cookery contest winners, of course.

Ruston - I really do love and appreciate your small town charm.

6.08.2011

wedding wednesday: moving and a shaking

I spent my weekend in Ruston [aka the wedding-planning mothership] for the main purpose of adding some checks to that to-do list. It was suc-cess-ful!

Over the past several years, I've saved over 1,000 photos in my "Wedding Ideas" folder. I'm a little more embarrassed of that now that I read it out loud. It's just because I've been wedding-obsessed since I was little bitty. Well, very young. I was never actually little bitty.

You can imagine that I wouldn't want to include that many ideas into one wedding, so I had to majorly scale it down into one concise vision. Which is super fun, I might add. So, I thought I'd give all you faithful readers a sneak-peek of some of the ideas we chose to incorporate. None of them will be exactly like the inspiration pictures - got to put our own vintage spin on them, of course. And it won't ruin a surprise on the big day [which is officially less than two months away...WHOA]. 


1. Lots and lots and lots of candlelight 
























2. Lots of beautiful girls in a beautiful neutral platinum 


























3. Blush, "ruffly" flowers, as we call them






































4. Vintage hang-tag programs - really excited to get to make these!















































5. Old family photos to remind family and guests of their big days
























6. Bread bread bread - thankfully, our awesome caterer just spent a couple months in Italy and fell deeper in love with my favorite food

































7. Door letters - the next item on the DIY list















































It's also safe to say that we'll have enough mercury glass to use it on every surface of our home...for the rest of our lives.

6.07.2011

out of control

I have a big girl job.

And I did nothing to achieve it.

The Lord continues to amaze me with His mercy-filled provision that I absolutely do not deserve. I'm beginning to see a pattern in my life. A pattern of Him providing things in a way where there is no question of if I could have accomplished it on my own strength and in my own time.

The day before my soon-to-be-boss called me to set up an interview, all I could think about is having to job search and plan a wedding. Though it was not a source of stress yet, the thought of it was pretty...well...ginormous. Some nights I spent searching the internet for jobs so that me and my almost-hubs can eat every night. Or...every other night if need-be. All of sudden, in about 72 hours, there was a string of events that led to a phone call, a meeting time, a great interview, and a job offer. And celebrating afterward, of course. And the craziest thing is that I never even applied for this job. I see the Lord's mighty hand. And I know that this event will not be forgotten so that He may be glorified over and over again in this strengthening of our faith. What a great God we serve, yes?!

So, sometime in July, I'll begin as the Policy Coordinator for the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities. Sounds more fancy than it is, I believe. And I'm not completely sure what all it will entail. But, from what I've heard, I'm just so very excited!

And, by the way, I graduated. It was a really fun weekend. It just happened to get a little shadowed by all this super-exciting wedding business. Here's a mini photo-dump from that weekend.




-








6.02.2011

wedding wednesday: go time

I'm going to go ahead a blame Memorial Day for making me think that today was Tuesday and causing this Wedding Wednesday post to cut a little into Thursday since I just got my mind on the right calendar square.

With the beginning of this week came wedding go-time. And, let me just say, I love it. Are you getting married? Can I make you a to-do list also? Trust me, I'm capable. Ours is three pages long. Typed.



I'm headed north this weekend to check off some of those boxes with my super Mother of the Bride. We've been stress-free and wedding-nightmare-free so far, and I'd like to keep it that way. But, after laying eyes on this beauty, I will be having some sweet wedding dreams tonight.




Speaking of dreams...time for some beauty rest. I have a big-girl interview tomorrow. Prayers are welcomed.

Goodnight fellow wedding lovers!