Our Wedding, Part 1 - Bridal Portraits

Hi friends!

Thank you all for the warm welcome, it's good to be back in the blogosphere. I know a lot of you have continued to follow me on Instagram and even Facebook and that has been awesome. I'm so glad that I have had the opportunity to meet such amazing ladies through blogging.

Since it's been a while, I decided to share some details about our wedding, starting with my bridal portraits. 

I know that bridal portraits are typically a southern tradition and although I am not originally from the South, I was determined to do it right and have them done. 

We had the same photographer do everything from my bridal portraits to engagement photos (which I've already shared) to our wedding and reception. I couldn't be happier with all of their hard work and how everything turned out.

Now that the big day has passed, I can finally share my photos with the world. 

Here are some of my faves!

And..last, but not least, the photo that was on display at our reception.

All photos are by Aaron & Jillian Photography (formerly Aaron Nicholas Photography.)

Location: Old Wide Awake Plantation, Charleston, South Carolina

Dress: Austin by Watters

Jewelry: Nicole Miller via Rent the Runway

Veil: Mini Tulle Birdcage Veil by Tessa Kim

Shoes: Something Bleu via BHLDN

Thank y'all for stopping by!

Our Photographer: Aaron Nicholas Photography

Happy Monday morning y'all!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Shaun and I attended the big annual Oyster Festival here in Charleston over the weekend while his family was in town. We had a blast per usual and still got home early enough to order in for dinner with some sweet friends and taste some wedding cake samples!

Today, I would like to introduce you to our fabulous wedding photographers, Jill and her partner-in-crime, Aaron (her husband!)

{used with permission}

 I had come across a few other photographers in the area that I had really liked, who didn't end up working out. I was a little bummed, but when I found Aaron Nicholas Photography, I knew they were the ones.

I've had a blast getting to know Jill over the past month or so and am really looking forward to having both her and Aaron do our engagement photos and my bridal shoot. I know that working with them prior to the wedding is going to make the actual day so much better.

Can't wait to share our photos with you!

In the meantime, check out some of the amazing work these two have done in the past.

Aaron Nicholas Photography 


Enjoy!

I know I haven't given my blog a whole lot of love lately....

but, I did today! I designed and put up a new header along with fixing the menu tabs, which was a long time coming.

I've come a long way since the last time I posted about our wedding. I've crossed a lot more off the list since December 16 (we are on the 'Short Engagement' timeline lol!)

Months Four, Five, and Six....

Arrange for Families to Meet

Hire a wedding planner

Book Venue - Old Wide Awake Plantation

Book Photographer - Aaron Nicholas Photography

Book Videographer - Dreampop Media

Book Officiant - Seacoast Church

Book reception DJ - Creative Sound

Purchase wedding dress

Choose bridesmaids dresses

Order flower girl's dresses

Book caterer - Cru Catering

Book florist - So Gorgeous Florals

Set-up wedding website

Choose groomsmen's attire

Place suit orders

Compile guest list 

Send save-the-dates

Order invitations - Working on that now

Choose wedding party

Book hotel room blocks

Get engagement ring appraised & insured

Book honeymoon - 3-4 year "honeymoon" to Hawaii ;)

Three months....

Proof Invitations
Help mom with ordering bridal shower invitations

Set-up registries - Macy's, Pottery Barn, Kohl's

Book location for rehearsal dinner

Schedule food tasting

Schedule walk-through of ceremony/ reception sites

Hire ceremony musicians

Choose cake maker

Order veil and/or headpiece

Book day-of coordinator

Shop for wedding bands

Choose rentals (glassware, dinnerware, linens, etc.)

Engagement photos

Compile list for showers

Meet with officiant to plan ceremony

Shop for bride/ groom rehearsal outfits

Shop for shower/ bachelorette dresses

First dress fitting

Buy shower hostess gifts

DIY rehearsal/welcome reception invitations

Pre-marital counseling - In process

Two months....

Stuff and mail invitations

Book hotel room for wedding night

Hire hair & makeup person - Ash & Co.

Buy gifts for wedding party

Research marriage license requirements

Buy undergarments, shoes, jewelry

Compile ceremony/ reception music

Draft schedule of events for wedding weekend

Order monogrammed cocktail napkins

Bridal portraits/ hair & makeup trial

Bridal shower - March 9!

Book transportation from reception to hotel

4-6 weeks....

Gifts for out-of-town guests? koozies? (southern state of mind)

Create final schedule of events for all vendors

Final dress fitting

DIY photo guestbook

Print programs/ menus?

Meet with photographer/ list of must-do photos

Meet with videographer/ list of must-do shots

Bachelorette party/ Girls' weekend!

DIY signs for reserved seating & seat yourself

DIY monograms for front door of venue

DIY signs for Rte 162 & Trexler Ave.
DIY table signage (menu, etc.) 

Frame bridal portrait

Order sparklers for send off

Rehearsal dinner groom's cake

Final vendor payments

Music selections to band and ceremony artist

Order thank you notes

Last two weeks...

Thank you dinner @ Halls w/ parents & siblings

Manicures/ pedicures

Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner/ welcome reception

Organize tip envelopes for vendors

Get dress steamed

Walk down the aisle & say, "I do!" 

Okay, maybe I lied. It feels like I got a lot done, but according to this list, I still have a LOT to do. There are many things in the works right now so hopefully I'll be able to check off a few more in the next week or so :)

I'll fill y'all in on more soon!

Wedding Wednesday: Bridesmaids Dresses!

After looking at a LOT of different inspiration photos, I knew that I wanted to use blush pink and ivory as the two main colors for our wedding theme. Little did I know that it would make finding the perfect bridesmaids dresses a very stressful process!

Turns out every designer has their own version of "blush" and finding one that was perfect was a harder decision than I thought it would be. 

I also wanted to take the price into consideration because several of my bridesmaids are traveling from out-of-state so that was another challenge that I had to contend with.

I had many favorites, but when I saw this dress, I knew it was the one.

Mori Lee, style #682 in Ivory Lace and Blush Chiffon

Now, apparently no pictures exist of this dress in the exact colors that I'm using so the above photo is the exact style, but think Ivory lace. The photo of the dress below is the exact colors.

Can't wait to see this beautiful dress on all my girls!

So much to do, so little time; The venue!

Still trying to get my blog caught up on the wedding planning process, a lot happened in such a short amount of time!

My main goal was to get all of the big vendors and decisions done/ made before the holidays so that we could enjoy this time with our families and not have to stress out about wedding planning.

First comes the ring, then the dress (or if you're me, vice versa haha), then we had to find the venue, photographer, DJ, bridesmaids dresses, caterer, register, and choose the wedding party. All which I can happily say are DONE!

A few weeks ago, actually just a few days after we got engaged, Shaun and I went to check out a venue that we had found online and had fallen in love with.

Living in Charleston, there are a million and one beautiful places to get married and this city has long been called one of the top wedding destinations. With that being said, I knew that I wanted to find something beautiful, but slightly off the beaten path to not only try and save a few bucks, but to try and have something slightly different than every other couple that's gotten married here.

The venue that we chose is Old Wide Awake Plantation in Hollywood, SC.

 Some additional photos that I took during our tour.

 Front of the house.

Side view.

 Looking up at the front of the house.

Beautiful sprawling porch..

 Looking out from the front porch.

Another porch view.

More porch..

The drive, leading up to the house.

Overall, the property is just perfect. There is a small pond with a fountain next to the house as well as a fire pit. There is also a park at the end of the road that lies right on the river, which will be perfect for photos!

These pictures can't even start to portray how beautiful it is and I know that with our personal touch, it will be a fairytale!

Wedding Wednesday!

I am very excited today because Shaun and I are going to tour our number one choice for venue!

Old Wide Awake Plantation

Originally we had discussed a wedding date of Sunday, April 13, 2014, but changed it to April 6 due to our upcoming move. We thought this would give us more time to visit family after the wedding and before our move to Hawaii.

After calling around to local hotels over the past few days, I am quickly finding that April 6 was not a very good choice. The Cooper River Bridge Run is the same day and it is the biggest event in Charleston. I haven't been having very much luck finding a block of hotel rooms for our out-of-town guest, most places have nothing available.

Last night, we discussed changing the date back to April 13th or even the weekend before, March 30. We have told some people April 6, but we haven't sent out save-the-dates yet or signed any contracts.

What would y'all do? The cheapest hotel room I've been able to find so far ranges from $179-$199 (WITH a group discount!) Since we already have so many guests coming from out-of-state, I feel like this would deter them from coming even more :(

We plan to talk to the event coordinator at the venue tonight to get her opinion.

Any suggestions are welcome!

BIG NEWS!!

Sooo, I know that I've been a in and out of blogging a lot lately, but it has mainly been because I knew that we were on the verge of some big news and I could hardly contain myself.

We got official word about Hawaii now though so I can freely talk about that and something else happened over the weekend that I can also now talk freely about....

WE'RE ENGAGED!!

Shaun proposed this past Sunday and I say "yes!", of course :)

It was the most perfect proposal. He caught me completely off guard and I couldn't possibly think of a better way for him to have done it.

We have set the date for April 6, 2014. Yes, we have only about five months to plan, but I am ready! You see, I knew that it was only a matter of time and I may have taken it upon myself to do some of the legwork already (with Shaun's approval, that is.)

As of tomorrow, I plan to join in on Marie's Wedding Wednesday link-up or eventually create my own. Stop on by tomorrow for my first post, The Proposal Story!

 And, for those who are dying to see it (because I know I would be!)

I am one HAPPY girl! <3<3<3

I've never been so happy...

to be back at work today! This might sound crazy and you might think that I'm still sick for thinking this, but the fact of the matter is, I don't even want to be at my own house right now. Our house guest has long overstayed his welcome and I not happy about it. I feel disrespected and taken advantage of. S told me last night that tonight will be his last night here and he leaving tomorrow morning, but that is not soon enough.

Okay, I'm done venting. For now.

On to InstaTuesday! Follow me on Instagram!

My work Christmas party on Friday night...

 Out for drinks at Proof afterward..

I also got my first Birchbox last week, which I was very excited about :) Here is what I got:

I actually love the perfume, this is definitely something that I would consider buying full-size. The twistband is also very cool. I've been seeing these around a lot, but haven't gotten around to trying them out yet so I was very excited to get one. The shea butter cream is amazing and smells like bananas! S called me "banana-hands" lol. Also included: a rose gold-ish colored nail polish, a highlighter from Stila, and conditioning hair treatment by Kerastase. I did try the conditioning treatment over the weekend, however, I didn't really notice that big of a difference. At $61 full-price, I would never. Can't wait to get the December box soon!

Weekend Update :)

Happy Monday y'all. Sorry to get this done so late.. I decided to call out sick this morning because I wasn't feeling that great. I didn't sleep very well last night and I was feeling a little nauseous this morning, not to mention crampy. I slept in a little, had breakfast then decided I felt good enough to go for a run. All sick credibility, out the window. I'm also scheduled for training tonight and still plan on going so guess I'm not really sick hah.

I would love to lay down and take a little power nap before working out later, however, the sweet tea I was craving at lunch is keeping me from doing so. I did get a lot done though this afternoon. I got some errands done and my ornaments out for the SW Ornament Swap (oops! a little late, sorry y'all!)

Our Christmas cards also came in the mail from Shutterfly which was awesome because I didn't think they'd come this fast! I'm really excited to send them out :)

PS - This is the last day to sign up for my $50 giveaway to Shutterfly! There is still some time to get a few last minute gifts!

Weekend Update:

Friday night was my work Christmas party downtown. It wasn't all that exciting, but it was free dinner and open bar (wine & beer) and we got to get dressed up, so why not? That ended kind of early so we headed out for a drink at Proof then on to meet up with some friends afterward.

Saturday was kind of low key. We hung out at home most of the day then went to Red's at Bohicket for dinner. We were thinking about going to the Festival of Lights at JICP that night, but the traffic was so ridiculous that we opted to go home and watch Christmas movies instead :) We decided on Disney's A Christmas Carol and we all fell asleep :p

First thing Sunday morning, S and I took Gunner for a run then went to church and brunch at Water's Edge at Shem Creek (one of our fave brunch places!) The weather was beautiful so we decided to take Gunner to Folly Beach and he had an absolute ball. It was the first time that we took him to the beach since my little slip & fall accident. It was nice to be able to let him run off his leash and burn some puppy energy! He passed out in the back seat long before we got home.

For dinner, we went over to my friend Kristin's house. On occasion we do a Sunday night dinner with our group of friends and she invited us all over for lasagna. It was really nice to get together and catch up with everyone. I am hosting Sunday night dinner next week and the theme is 'Christmas dinner'. It will be the 2nd annual since I did it last year, too. I love having everyone over right before the holiday and before everyone travels home to see their families.

This weekend has been carefree, yet a little stressful. S and I are both traveling home next week for the holiday and we have lots to do before then. The apartment needs a very thorough cleaning, Gunner has to go to the vet, Christmas shopping needs to get done, etc., etc., etc. On top of all that, a friend of S's from Washington decided that he wanted to drop in on us this past weekend. S agreed to let him come stay for the weekend (he got in Thurs. night) and we thought he was going to be leaving Sunday morning. Well he didn't. Then yesterday, he mentioned something about staying until Tuesday or possibly Wednesday. That's not exactly what I wanted to hear and being extremely last minute already, I was not at all prepared for this. Don't get me wrong, I love having visitors, when they don't overstay their welcome. It wouldn't really be that big of a deal I guess, but he is being very persistent and getting almost upset that we aren't just rushing to rearrange our schedules for him when we already have a lot to do. I can sense S's frustration and mine is building as well. Ugh. I hate to say it, but I hope he leaves tomorrow :(

The whole situation is just awkward. S told him in the first place that it wasn't a good time, then he just goes on ahead and comes anyway then decides to stay longer than expected.

Anyway, enough complaining for now. I am off to workout #2 of the day and I will leave you with some pictures from the Christmas parade last weekend :)

Random Wednesday.

As if I haven't done enough linkups today, I've decided to add one more. It's mostly because I've had a few random topics in mind to blog about, I just haven't gotten to them yet.

I have a few more pics from the Navy Christmas Ball that I got from friends. They are much better than my crappy iPhone pics.

Linds and her hubby inside the lemur exhibit hehe.

 Me and my girl, Lindsey, from Lounging with Lindsey (check her out!)

 Bailee and I doing the "lean back" (yes, she is very tall, 6'4 to be exact)

 S being a ham :p

Wine will make you look like this:

Gunner update:

He is still the cutest pup in the history of forever. We went through a rough time for a few weeks where he was nipping quite a bit. I had bruises and he left S bleeding. I think we are through the worst of it now though. I don't know what it is, but he has been much more gentle and better behaved since he had his first play date with Jackson last week. I'm hoping this lasts! He has also chewed through his crate and escaped several times. The first wasn't so bad, the second time - worse, the third time - we are getting him a metal crate, period.

We got our Christmas tree up and decorated, finally! It is kind of a micro-Christmas tree, but we just don't have room for a big one and since I hate our apartment and can't wait to move, I just don't have much motivation to buy decorations or do anything to it. I am also afraid of what Gunner might do to one.

Last night, I attempted the SkinnyTaste recipe for Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats. I actually stole the recipe off of Megan's blog over at Fried Green Pickles and it came out awesomee. I've never really made anything like this before, but I was very happy with it. Thanks for sharing, Megan!

 I just found this sweater on Etsy today and I must have it.

 

 Source: etsy.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Lastly, I recently took a tour for new faculty and staff at the college I work at. I learned some really interesting things about Charleston and snapped some gorgeous photos:

Enter my giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Shutterfly.com HERE!

Ok, I think I'm done now. Have a great rest of the week!

Wednesday Walkabout and Oh, How Pinteresting!

Hey y'all, happy hump day! We are halfway though the week! Today I am linking up, as always, for Wednesday Walkabout and Oh, How Pinteresting! If you are dropping by, don't forget to say, "hello!" and check out my giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Shutterfly.com

I am getting ready to order my Christmas cards from there today, has everyone else ordered/sent out their Christmas cards??!

Today is a beautifuly 75* and sunny day here in Charleston so on that note, I am sharing some of my favorite pins from my 'Southern Love' board on Pinterest.

Source: etsy.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: afar.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: uploaded by user via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: bing.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: leitesculinaria.com via sweettealove on Pinterest

Source: uploaded by user via sweettealove on Pinterest

SC will always be in my <3.