Brooke & Davis - married!

It was a beautiful day for a wedding! All week the chance of rain decreased to 0% from about 40%... it was a gorgeous 72 and sunny. Someone was really looking out for these two! Custom dress, adorable white chapel and yard, key lime filled cake, fried green tomatoes... this wedding had it all. My heartfelt congratulations go out to Brooke and Davis! Have SO MUCH FUN on your honeymoon!

Happy Wedding Day!

To Brooke and Davis, may you have a lifetime of love and happiness!

Love, Joellen & Steven



The picture above is where we are staying, the lovely Dorgan's Inn.

More Like Worst Present Ever

A surprise wedding is not a good idea for 99.99% of the population. In fact, even thinking that this could have been a possibility will now haunt my dreams for the rest of my days... I am just so glad that I am already married!

The gist is that a man, under the guise that he was planning the couple's own engagement party, set it up to be their actual wedding. According to this article, Adam wrote Carly a letter to explain what was actually going to happen (their wedding) instead of an engagement party and celebration of her homecoming from a 6 month sabbatical in Europe. With cameras already rolling, how could she react in any other way than thrilled?

As Carly read on, she soon discovered that Adam had planned every last detail, including picking a wedding dress, booking a hair stylist and makeup artist and inviting friends and family.

Barf.

Notice one little detail - NO ONE has pinned this article to Pinterest, there is a big fat 0 in the "Pin It" section. Want to know why? Pinterest is for wedding ideas that mostly girls have... and this, my male friends, is not one of them.

UPDATE:
A day later after the article went viral and STILL no pins to Pinterest. Men, if you have any questions on what to do to surprise your fiancee, I want to stress to you that THIS is not the solution.

Best of | Weddings!

I was talking with a friend the other day and she and I were going back and forth about some of the weddings we had been to... we were all like, "she had the best dress," and "their food was amazing!" and so this blog post was born. Although I have been to some pretty spectacular weddings over the years, here are my favorites from some of them. Please keep in mind these are my own opinions and could vary greatly depending on whom you talk to.

Best Bachelorette Party
Heather & Justin
When you start out your night by having dinner in the Pope room, then you head back home and the bride-to-be opens up several "dirty" gifts in front of her grandmother, who seems to be enjoying herself, then you know things are going pretty well. But things get even better when the doorbell rings because the limo is there to take you downtown, your night continues in a piano bar, and ends with vomit down the side of your car, you have yourself a party! Someone also went missing from the time we got home to the time we woke up... but that story is better left untold. Don't worry, she was fine. I miss my 20s. :)

 

Best Wedding Transport
Rachel & Frank
You know the transportation is good when you take a photo in front of it!

Best Bridesmaid Dress
Shannon & Chris
I have been a bridesmaid in approximately 6 weddings, and to this day, this is the only bridesmaid dress that I have worn again, several times actually. It was under $100 and I didn't have to have it altered one bit, plus I think it looked fantastic on everyone!

Best Destination
KB & Jeff
Bald Head Island, NC is one of the coolest places I have ever been for a wedding. I wrote more about it here, but I think the perfect weather really helped this secluded island - you can only get there by ferry and the main mode of transportation is a golf cart!

Best Bridal Entrance
Lindsey & Christopher
The bridal party and bride came by boat! That is a lot of planning and coordination (and quite a hike to get to the alter) but it was worth it as we could ooh and ahh over her beautiful dress. I also liked that they came from the front. No one had to do the awkward turn around to watch the bride as she walked down the aisle. It was also a very beautiful day.

Best Ceremony
Janye & Andrew
Not many words are needed to go along with this picture taken at Wildcat Cliffs Country Club in Highlands, NC. The ceremony was beautiful, the weather was perfect, the views are breathtaking and the entire wedding party is good looking. ;)

Best Dress
Liz & Joe
Her wedding dress was the first to really "wow" me. My wedding was only a week prior and I was like, "damn, now THAT is a dress." :)

Best Vows
Lauren & Tripp
I have never cried at a wedding until this particular friend's big day. I was so unprepared that I had to use a napkin stuffed into my husband's pocket! I could not tell you today what their vows were, except that they wrote them for each other and were very personal and heartfelt. 

Best Wedding Decor
Sarah & Chris
This one is no surprise as Sarah has her own vintage rental company here in Charleston, but her taste is very nice and eclectic! I like that she re-purposes flea market finds and gives them new life by reupholstering, painting, or rewiring them. We were greeted by custom seating, handmade signs, and monogrammed wayfarer sunglasses, but my favorite was the love lighting above the bar. It was a beautiful night!

Best Reception
Tyler & Danny
This was one of the most fun receptions I have been to; from the food, to the band, and to the break-dancing grandfather. We were greeted with drinks, comfortable seating arrangements, no waiting for food... it was definitely a great time and all of it was spectacular!

 

Best Cake

Janye & Andrew

The best cake I have ever put in my mouth was at this wedding... only to be topped by ANOTHER cake at the SAME wedding! The first was a caramel chocolate layered cake, and then second was a sweet potato cake. I know what you are thinking, sweet potato? Not my favorite either, but this cake was to die for!

Best Music 

Katie & Jeff

I know that some people have an opinion if bands are better than DJs, they certainly are more expensive, but I didn't use that to determine my favorite here. What I saw at this reception was everyone from kids to grandmother's dancing to the DJ and his on point music selections. You could slow dance (or take a breather) to Unchained Melody or get your groove on to the latest pop beat, but my favorite was a rendition from Meatloaf where the bride and groom sang "will you love me forever, will you need me, will you never leave me, will you make me so happy for the rest of my life, will you take me away, will you make me your wife?" and it was unplanned, but so fun! Katie would sing the girl's part and then Jeff would sing the guy's part, then we would all join in. I couldn't believe how great this DJ was.

Bridesmaid Dress!

Here is what I will be wearing next March 22 in my friend Brooke's wedding! Love it! There was even a coupon to save 30%. Easiest.bride.ever. :)

Bridesmaid for Brooke!

I was so honored to be asked to be a bridesmaid in my friend Brooke's upcoming wedding! She is my oldest friend from Charleston and we have been through so much together! We've traveled together, hung out as friends, worked together in the same field, and she was even there the night I met Steven.

I am so happy that I could share all of these memories with her! Including watching her love grow for her fiance Davis. She is such an amazing person and I wouldn't be doing anything else in the world than standing by her side on one of the biggest days of her life - her wedding day.

That is... if my husband doesn't steal away the groom before then... haha!

Highlands, NC Wedding

We are headed out to Highlands, NC for the weekend and the second wedding out of four this season. I can't wait! It is for the nuptials of our good friends Janye and Andrew. A bunch of us (9 couples maybe?) got two adjacent houses and fun should be had by all! I have never been to this area.

Steven is actually getting into this wedding a little more than usual. He picked out part of the gift and he was even scheming with another one of the male guests about which house we are staying in so they could continue their bro-mance. He also RSVPd for one of the events all by himself because it is "casino" themed! Maybe I should come up with "casino" themed housework... ;)

KB + Jeff - Then Comes Marriage

Bald Head Island, NC is such an amazing place, unlike anywhere I have ever been. Because you have to take a ferry to get there, the main mode of transportation on the 4 mile long island is a golf cart. It is safe, quiet, and so beautiful here.

Sunrise shot from the morning after on the ferry back to the mainland port.

 It was the perfect weekend for a wedding and a wonderful start for my good friend KB's life together with her now husband Jeff. I am so happy for them!

My favorite shot of the groom with the glow sticks is below. I cannot wait to see the pictures from this, they were used in the wedding couple send off because fire works, etc. are not allowed on the island. I loved it!!!

It's Wedding Season!

Headed out for our first of 4 weddings this summer! Very excited to see everyone and the beautiful location. Cheers KB & Jeff! :)

April Wedding #3 | Lindsey + Christopher

Lindsey and Christopher are newer friends of ours over the past year or two. I met her because we are in the same field (architecture) and really get along well. I had the pleasure of attending their gorgeous wedding and I must say, she went above and beyond and I was so impressed with her talents! 

First, we were greeted with this custom tree sketch that we were to add our name and thumbprints to as the "leaves" of the tree. It is such a great idea and will adorn their home for years to come. She sketched the tree herself, but I bet anyone could do it!

Project Notes: 

Even if you can't draw, a tree is a very simple shape and you don't even need to draw the leaves! :) Since it is naturally occurring, you can't really mess it up. If I was going to start this project, this is how I would do it, no matter your skill level.

1. Find an inspiration image online and practice free-handing it with pen or pencil on paper. You can skip this step if you are super comfortable just starting on your final product.
2. As you get more comfortable, find a larger sheet of paper and either sketch it with light pencil strokes to trace in pen or just start with a pen (I like and highly recommend Sharpie - Ultra Fine) so you get nice definitive lines.
3. You can erase, use white-out, scan into the computer and delete/ correct in Photoshop - whatever your skill level, to get it to look right. You can either leave or erase your pencil lines depending on the look you are trying to get.
4. Now take it to a large format printing company, have them scan it in (or bring your digital file), scale it to fit the paper size of your frame, and print it.
5. Think about adding some personal touches. Above, they added their names and date which can be done on the computer with a fun font or handwritten as they have done. If you look closely there is a "C + L" in a heart "carved" into the tree which is an adorable touch.

Final notes are to use a paint that you have practiced with and is not too messy. Lindsey and Christopher used a paint that you would perhaps put stamps into. It came right off our finger with the provided wet wipes.

Back to the wedding:

This time of year has great weather, and this day was no exception. Look at all of my pretty girlfriends and our fun dress colors!

They arrived by boat, what? Yes, by BOAT! It was fantastic. Here comes the bride!

The natural wedding setting was amazing. A simple draped tree was the backdrop and just perfect for their big day.

 
All the drama but not all the cost, my friend Lindsey strung up lanterns with LED candles in them that turned on when it got dark. I wish I would have had my better camera to show you the night shots, but this day shot will have to do.

Here are me and my husby on the newly constructed boat dock!

 

April Wedding #2 | Katie + Jeff

What a beautiful day in the midwest for my best friend Katie and her new husband Jeff! OK, so maybe the weather wasn't that great, but when it is true love, nothing else matters. :)

 Last Girls Night Out in Indy on Thursday

 Rehearsal Dinner at Buca di Beppo on Friday

That's me at the top next to the beautiful bride in white. ;)

 

 Someone was designing from Pinterest - love the letters!

To my newest favorite married couple, I couldn't be happier for you and love you both!

April Wedding #1 | Chris + Amber

What a BEAUTIFUL day for these two! I couldn't help but remember our own very similar beautiful day almost 3 years ago for Steven and I. The ceremony and the reception were very much like this amazing couple! It was heartfelt and fun. A lifetime of happiness to you two! :)

Fascinators

There are just too many to post, but this "Fascinator" stood out as one of my favorites worn at the royal wedding. My sister said it looks like a blue vagina, my friend asked if it was cool to put a blue canoe on one's head, but mostly, this is one of my favorite colors and what I noticed is that it appears to defy gravity. I love it!

To me, if no one was talking about my "fascinator," good or bad, then I would think I didn't make big enough of a statement. And, if it is a vagina, at least she still has her flower!

Wedding Entry #10 | Make the Day YOURS

I can’t tell you how many times people told me that our wedding “looked like me.” How can an event look like someone? I guess I get it, I over-wear the color aqua, I love spheres, sugary candy over chocolate, matchy-matchy, order within the chaos, fun… I could see it. It really all culminated down to this one fact that I got everything I wanted, within the budget I set, and it was the best day of my life.

The word “wedding planner” was a nightmare to me and I hear that they are required at some venues? I guess if my career didn’t revolve around project management I could see that I might need a planner, but when you, yourself, are an OVER planner, that is all you really need! As long as I was the one in control I didn't become a bridezilla...

Thankfully I had a very understanding fiancé, who is now an understanding husband, and we have this memory for the rest of our lives. I love wedding planning!

These “Wedding Entries” are the top 10 things I did at my wedding to make it my own, but I still do love all things wedding so I am sure the posts won’t stop, but they will be geared more towards weddings in general. As I am a future matron of honor come next April, I will be doing a lot more research!

Wedding Entry #9 | Can't Find It? Make It!

I could not find a bird cage veil at any of the stores around town, but my magazines proved that somewhere, someone, was making the pretty little veils as brides were wearing them all over their covers and pages within them.

Once I found out that the specific name of the veil was “bird cage” the search became a little easier. I found a woman online who made them [here], but I get nervous when all control is left in someone else’s hands. I really wanted a custom fit so that it wasn’t flowing over my face, too long, too short, etc., and since this was such a big part of my ensemble, it had to be perfect… so, once again, I made it myself. Me = control freak, at least I can admit it, right?

I knew I was taking a risk as I had never made one before, but I figured out the exact netting I wanted to use, ordered enough to make two veils just in case, and got to work. I did end up making two, but just chose the one that fit me best and the result is the picture above. 

One of my bridesmaids gave me a hair clip that I modified a bit and clipped it to my hair over the veil. After the ceremony was over, I removed the veil and just wore the clip. I can’t explain what my attraction was to this veil, I just knew that I did not want a super elaborate and long one, and this was sort of where I ended up - I really loved it!

Some girls told me that they “wished” they could pull off that look and my response to them was, did you think I pulled it off?!? Fooled them! I wasn’t sure I could wear it either; I just know that if you put something on with confidence, you will rock it every time! I mean, it isn’t everyday that I wear a floor length white gown either.

The one issue I had was a bit of wedding overload and I will warn you about this if you do decide to make a bunch of stuff for your big day. Be honest with yourself because maybe what you made isn't the best thing out there? I wish I would have thought to have someone else proofread my printables. I misspelled the word "marriage" in our program and it still drives me nuts to this day! I hate misspellings and have a terrible habit of correcting everything I am reading... I've been known to correct published books! But when you are the one writing everything, I think a second set of eyes will never hurt.

If you are looking for a specific item, but can't or don't want to make it yourself, there are a lot of crafty people on Etsy that would LOVE to help! Give me a shout if you need some advice.

Jenn & Rich Get Hitched!

Thank goodness the rain held off for the beautiful nuptials of great friends Jenn & Rich! The property was on the river in beautiful Awendaw, SC and the weather started a bit shaky, chilly and windy, but it ended up being a beautiful and calm night. I don't think the bride nor groom even noticed as the love level in the air was at an all time high! Congratulations to you two and a lifetime of love and happiness to you both!

B-E-A-UTIFUL wedding!

It was a perfect Saturday for a wedding and my friend Tyler and her fiancee Danny planned just that! It was held at Lowndes Grove Plantation here in Charleston and was right on the water. Couple that with a great band, delicious food, and fun friends and you've got yourself quite an evening!

Pictured above are most of my Charleston girlfriends [and myself], followed by the first dance, the cake under the tent, and the bride walking down the aisle with the plantation house in the background. The night went on to the wee hours of the morning and Steven and I had a blast!

Wedding Entry #8 | Local Flavor

Sometimes, you can use tradition to your advantage, like when it comes to the catering menu. When I found out what the cost was to upgrade the meals to steak and chicken instead of something else and chicken, I found it comforting to know that since a lot of our guests were coming in from out of town, they might appreciate a little lowcountry cuisine. We served shrimp and grits along with our chicken dish and saved a bundle. Overall cost for our catering was about $6,900, but included all rentals (linens, plates, forks, glasses, etc.) and even the full bar tab as well.

This was actually a recommendation of Elaine at Hamby Catering [shout out!]. She said a great way to serve steak would be in the passed hors de oeuvres during the cocktail party, after the ceremony, but before the actual meal (basically this is “picture time” for the bride, groom, and wedding party). And so that is what we did. We served some of our favorites, albeit pricey, bacon wrapped scallops, beef tenderloin crustadas, and she-crap soup in demitasse cups.

Another popular local item is a palmetto rose made by kids around the market area in downtown Charleston. I commissioned a young boy to make 15 small roses [$3 a piece] that I added ribbon and pins to so they could be used as boutonnieres and corsages [seen in the above picture]. This became a keep-sake for the wedding party as these won’t wilt and die like a flower will. It gave a great look and feel for our lowcountry wedding.