The perfect day to Blog!

It's March, yet outside it feels like a mid June day! Crazy, but I'll take it!!! My schedule as a nurse is so nice because I only work 3 days a week- but I work 12 hr shifts- at night. Sometimes it's hard when I have a few days off in a row during the week finding productive stuff to do- besides shopping! So, since enjoying the outdoors is FREE I decided to take in the sun, and go up to our rooftop to blog, internet surf and read. SO relaxing! 

My roof top view- Beautiful uptown Charlotte skyline

 I am SO looking forward to the summer and all of our trips we have planned! As for now we are going to San Diego, CA to visit Joel's family in July. We have planned to do a two night mini getaway to Santa Barbara in the middle of the trip. I cannot wait for this! I have been to San Diego many times throughout our dating and engaged years, and I love it! We are going to try to explore more of sunny CA on our future trips out there though. Our thoughts are if were already paying a fortune to fly out- we might as well travel some when we're there! Personally I love this idea- I mean of course- I came up with it! Luckily my Husby was on board! We're looking very forward to our little getaway! My notepad already is full of places to go, eat, shop and stay! I can't wait to get our PTO finalized and start to book our trip! More of this to come later!

Can't wait till July!

We're also going to Folly Beach in September with my parents, Aunt, Uncle and cousins! We have all been vacationing together my whole life, and we do it well! ha ha! My Dad found us an awesome house on the inlet. We have our own dock, with it's own outdoor room/gazebo that has electricity. I think the boys will be fishing, drinking beer and hanging out there the whole day. Probably the only time they will leave is to hit up the golf course!


My girlfriends and I are still throwing around the idea of all getting together probably around Labor Day- no set plans yet- but I hope it works out! Two years ago we went to Hilton Head and rented a house for the long weekend. IT was all of girls and our significant others- we had a blast! We had our own pool, and spent the entire day at the beach, came back enjoyed a swim and then grilled out and drank the night away. I look back on that trip often and laugh. I can't share many stories on here :) We got a little wild!

Such an amazing long weekend away! The girls, minus Joy- she was too busy drinking :)

I'm looking forward to traveling and soaking up that summer sun! I need a tan- like BAD!

Cheers to the ever approaching warm weather :)

Fashion Friday... Warm Weather Accessories!

Warm weather is on it's way here down South! Well actually the weather is kind of messing with us- 70s one day, 40s the next! It's making it quite challenging in the wardrobe department! Whenever the seasons are changing the number one thing I get excited about is getting new clothes and accessories! I love to online shop and browse- my husband would say I do it constantly! I pulled together some of my favorite accessories for the upcoming season and wanted to share!


I like to keep it real- I'm not going to buy everything listed (only in my dreams!), I like to mix and match really nice expensive staple pieces with more affordable fun ones! I tried to keep price in mind as I swooned over many many many accessories!


“I admit it's tempting to wish for the perfect boss - the perfect parent - or the perfect outfit. But maybe the best any of us can do is not quit, play the hand we've been dealt, and accessorize what we've got.
-Carrie (Sex & the City)”


BANGLES/BRACELETS

Tinley Road animal hinge bracelet $34.00

Sabine Tribal bangle $30.00

Tinley Road pearl bead inlay cuff  $28.00

Hive and Honey loop cuff $24.00

J Crew pave link bracelet $118.00

 I need all three of these

 David Yurman bangles! Yes I 

said it NEED! ha! I really 

love the stacked bangle and 

watch look. I've been trying to

pull it off, and these babies 

would really help :)

NECKLACES:

Monogram necklace- my #1 accessory to have this spring! I may end up getting silver though! Moon and Lola and numerous Etsy shops offer great options! And monograms are never out of style or season in my book!

Kate Spade Anchors away pendent $78.00 I'm loving every nautical this coming season!

Corcale found necklace $38.00

The previous two necklaces are from Anthropologie- loves it!
Tarn necklace $58.00 

Pree Brulee- seafoam mojito necklace $34.00

Kate Spade MRS necklace 

Pree Brulee- Dreaming Indigo necklace $38.00

Kris Nations state pendant necklace $42.00

Pree Brulee- Orientalist statement necklace $54.00

SCARVES

Old Navy

EARRINGS

Anthropologie 

Kate Spade studs

Tory Burch logo studs $68.00

Tangerine Dream earrings- Francescas- $14.00

BAGS

Took this from Pinterest and it cracks me up! I definitely look at a purse purchase as an investment :)

Danielle Nicole Carmen Satchel...dying over this one- must have it NOW! $128.00

Kate Spade Cobble Hill Leslie bag... I SWOON over Kate! $428.00

Danielle Nicole Mia oversized clutch...LOVE!

Tory Burch Amanda hobo- $465.00

Melie Bianco Alyssa bag...I NEED you!! $99.00

Pink crocodile embossed clutch by Pre Brulee

The Last Straw clutch- Francescas- $34.00.. it is also a crossover- love that!

WATCHES

Timex $70.00

Michael Kors Runway watch $250.00... I have this one already thanks to Husby :)

RINGS

Marc Jacobs ring

HAIR ACCESSORIES
I love headbands! I'm pretty challenged when it comes to styling my hair.... I'm completely awkward with a curling iron. It never quite turns out right! That is something on my list to work on though- mastering the curling iron!

Both headbands- Nordstrom

I DO- Reception

There is no way to sum up our reception other than....THE BEST PARTY OF OUR LIVES!!!!!! It topped all our expectations! It was beyond fun! I could go on and on!


The details:


Flowers- I'm a girl that loves flowers. Why our reception flowers I have to be honest and admit weren't exactly what I had imagined or pictured -I still loved them. We had a mixture of tall and short centerpieces to give the room more height and depth. The shipment of hydrangeas was slightly messed up and not as many as were supposed to came, but the look still was full with white, yellow and a pop of green color. There were also willow branches in the tall arraignments although it's hard to see!


Chairs- we had chair covers and accented them with the same silver gray color chair tie as the bridesmaids dresses. They helped to bring the yellow and gray color scheme come all together, and really made the chairs pop!


Paper Lanterns- Probably the best design decision we made. I was the first bride to use the lanterns in this ballroom. That made me nervous, I didn't want to make a decor mishap! I was obsessed with the paper lantern look though and wanted to use them BAD! The day of I checked in on the reception room every hour to see how the look was coming along. Much to my delight the lanterns looked fabulous! We had them scattered across the entire room. We also used a few different heights and sizes to bring more detail in.

We had lanterns accented with flowers and moss for the cocktail hour! Even though the weather was too crisp to enjoy them they still looked great!

reception set up

flowers, chair ties, lanterns!

Drink Stirrers: I was obsessed with putting my mark on our wedding by little details. The drink stirrers were something I HAD to have! Thanks to Etsy I had custom drink stirrers made- they were a hit!

                                                     Custom Drink Stirrers- Etsy Shop 

Seating chart: I had big plans for the seating chart. I wanted it to be easy to navigate for our guests, but didn't want it to lack in design. I ended up deciding on a big framed template that in my opinion looked great! Thanks to Etsy again for the seating chart: I simply ordered, sent over our guest list alphabetized, and printed at Kinkos. Put it in a great frame and ta da!

                                                     Custom Seating Chart- Etsy shop

Table Numbers: I designed these also on Etsy.... go figure! They were amazing paper quality and I loved how the yellow and gray colors with the damask design tied into all the other details. I used card holders from Michaels to display them- as they needed something sturdy and weighted to hold them since the paper was thick.
                                                            Table numbers- Etsy Shop

Wishing Tree: First off I wish we had a better picture of this beauty! OMG it was so gorgeous! I didn't want to do the traditional guest book that you never look back at. The wishing tree is a way for al your guest to write personal wishes for your future, marriage, love etc. We will look at these on anniversaries through the years!


Bridal Portrait: We displayed my bridal portrait, pictures from the portrait session and engagement photos along a decorated table. We also had the wishing tree and card area on this table. It was candle lit.

                                                          Custom Wishing Tree Tags

wishing tree tags 

Display table

Wishing Tree

Napkins: We (Me) of course had to have personalized wedding napkins! We had two different ones. They turned out great! I loved having our new last name one them!

We ate, drank and were married :)

Food: We're eaters in our family, and having great food was super important to us! We had quite a spread that included: carved prime rib, a risotto AND mashed potato bar with tons of fun toppings, seafood station with jumbo shrimp, crab claws, and oysters, roasted vegetables, salad, rolls etc! I can't even remember it all! We also had the banquet staff make up plates for Joel and I to have in our suite waiting for us - I would highly highly recommend this to all Brides! We ate at the reception but not as much as we wanted because we wanted to spend time with our guests!

YUM!!!!

Mashed potato and risotto bar served in cute glasses!

Seafood Station

DJ: At first in wedding planning I didn't think you could really go wrong with a DJ- I mean they just play music right?! Wrong! We learned quickly some DJs are completely obnoxious and very cheesy! Dylan Skidmore was recommend to us by many family and friends. He was slightly above our budget set by GPI- but they got him for us! They really pulled out all the stops for us! He was the best DJ ever! Our guests didn't leave the dance floor- everyone old and young was breaking it down and singing along all night! If this is a testament I didn't even have a bathroom break at the reception- that's how much fun we were having! And everyone that knows me knows I have a bladder about the size of a small pea :)

First dance: We were dorks and took ballroom dance lessons to have a great first dance. I have to say most would probably think this would be something that was an added stressor to the wedding process- for us it was the total opposite. I would meet Joel at the dance studio all dolled up, we would dance, laugh at ourselves the entire time, and then always have a dinner date after. It was a day we looked forward to! After about seven lessons we had learned our dance, and I have to say we did pretty well! We danced to "You are the Best Thing" by Ray Lamontagne.

breaking it down for our first dance- love the expressions on peoples faces! lol!

Father/Daughter dance

Cake: I gotta admit I wasn't a girl that cared much about the cake! I know I found out along the wedding planning process that was pretty weird! All I cared about was that it taste good and have a monogram! I got my wishes!

Joel was really getting into it!

love a bow and pearl accents

We used the bridesmaid bouquets to decorate the table! Get as much use out of them as possible!

Dancing: Not much need for explanation here! We all danced our booties off! Absolute amazing time! I only am sharing a few and man it was hard to pick!

love seeing my parents so happy!

the girls having a great time!

time out for a BFF hug!

having a blast!

hey there!

ha ha!

smooches! xoxo

Exit: We had a big exit! Much more awesome than we imagined it would be! All of our guests lined up on both sides of the hallway exiting the GPI and cheered us on! There were woo hoos, high fives and lots of smiles! We left in a golf cart decorated  by my girls! We were married, we were so happy, and our reception was a success to say the least! Lord if I could do it all again I would! Even though we extended the reception and bar by an hour my Dad still said "I could have done that for two more hours"! I'm so glad my parents had as much fun as we did!

The line felt like it went on and on! So good to say bye to everyone in a great way!

one last hug with Dad

We're off!!

Love all the cheers!!

haha Success for sure!!

GPI at night!

So gorgeous! 

Brunch: The next day my MOH Bailey's family hosted our out of towners and family to a fantastic brunch! They knocked it out of the park! The food, drinks and company were amazing!
After brunch we had all our friends and family back over to my parents to open gifts and hang out! We drove back to Charlotte Sunday afternoon so we could head out to Puerto Rico on our honeymoon Monday am! YAY!


Photography credit to The Schultzes  :)