Wedding Wednesday: Flowers

A couple months ago Andrew and I attended a local Bridal Expo to get our last few elusive vendors (you know the little things like a florist, a photographer...). There wasn't much advertising leading up to the expo and we live in a small town, so we weren't expecting much. How wrong we were. We arrived 2 hours before the expo was due to end and only made it to one room out of three!

Regardless, we were able to score some of our favorite vendors, like a florist and a photographer! We literally stumbled onto our florist in the most perfect way. Andrew and I had already made our way around the outside of the room and were on the inside leg when we both stopped for the same reason - we had spotted a bouquet almost exactly what we were looking for.

It was this beautiful bouquet...succulents and roses. I kid you not, it stopped us in our tracks! Donna from Prescott Personal Touch Flowers was amazing and answered all our questions! Andrew was so excited he actually set up a meeting for us right there! Ha! And who says the groom is never involved in the wedding?

We've now met with Donna and her partner a couple times and we are very excited to see our wedding flowers. They are going to be very cool.

Wedding Wednesday - Statement Necklace

The wedding is quickly approaching and the one thing I know I want need is a statement necklace.  Not just any statement necklace, I want an emerald statement necklace.  Since I can't afford a real emerald necklace, I'm willing to settle for the next best thing!  Check out these works of beauty!

Row 1: Lady Macbeth; Anna Karenina; Woven Rope

Row 2: The Cleo; Trinity; Eleanor

Row 3: Elizabeth; Stephanie Martin; Bella

Check out more on my Pinterest page.

Wedding Wednesday: Honeymoon Booked

As the date draws nearer, this all just seems more and more real. A couple nights ago Andrew and I booked the most exciting aspect of the wedding - the honeymoon! Honestly, we couldn't have been more giddy! We've been tossing around the idea of a honeymoon in the Caribbean. We are both scuba divers and knew we wanted to vacation somewhere in the tropics, but we weren't too sure where. 

Who wouldn't want to scuba dive here? via

After extensively googling the Caribbean I stumbled across Jade Mountain. It's an exquisite resort, but completely out of our price range. We could stay there for maybe 3 nights! 

All the rooms at the Jade Mountain have an open 4th wall that looks out to the spectacular Pitons! via

So I kept Googling, and that's when I found Ladera - nestle into the same area as Jade Mountain, but completely obtainable for us!

Ladera also has an open 4th wall, with a plunge pool in every room! via

We fell in love with the gorgeous views and the private plunge pools. Ladera is smaller than Jade Mountain and tucked into the landscape more, but we think that adds to its charm. We decided we would rather have incredible views than be next to the beach, so Ladera should work perfectly for us!

Now we just need to decide on the activities we are going to do while in St Lucia. I can't wait to explore the beautiful island, and hopefully I can drag Andrew along for a hike or two!

Wedding Wednesday - Shoes

Okay, so I may not know what I want my hair or makeup to look like, but I have a semi-strong feeling about my shoes.  I want wedges.  Mainly because I know I can walk in them (I will be on grass), and they are comfortable after a few hours (and pumps are not because they suck)!

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Wedding Wednesday - Make Up

I have thought even less about my make up than I have about my hair.  I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to do with my face.  Here are a sample of some possibilities!

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Wedding Wednesday - Wedding Hair

Today marks the 6 month mark (almost to the day) to the wedding.  It's kind of scary thinking of it in those terms.  When Andrew and I got engaged I wanted a longer engagement, so we decided on having a wedding 2 years out.  It's crazy to think that those 2 years are almost up...where does the time go?  Seriously!

Well, since the date is drawing nearer, everyone keeps asking me about the details.  I never know how to answer them, because frankly I don't have the details down!  I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my hair...so here's a collection of beautiful hair styles I'm considering for my walk down the plank aisle.

I have always loved the classic some-up-some-down and I think these looks are beautiful.

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However, I do realize that I am getting married in the middle of monsoon season here, so I'm sure an updo might hold on a little better.

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I suppose I still have time to decide on my hair...as I have yet to hire a hair dresser!  We shall see.  Either way I'm definitely going to go for curls/braids/messy/something!

As always you can check out my Pinterest for more wedding related images!

Wedding Wednesday: Our Very Own Monogram

I am spoiled by the friends I have made in my short lifespan.  Seriously, I have the most incredible friends any girl could ask for.  It's in small moments that you really see who people are; what they are capable of and what they can become.

Well one of my best friends in the whole world (and I mean that literally!) happens to be one of the most incredibly talented designers I know!  She has her masters in architecture, but has essentially taught herself how to be a graphic artist.  And what an artist she is!  That's why when I came up with the idea for Andrew and I to have our very own monogram for our wedding I instantly thought of having her design it.

I know designers hate doing things for free...I see that now, that I better understand what goes into designing something.  Man it's hard work!  So I am even more grateful to this amazingly, beautifully, talented friend of mine that she did this work for free!!  What a gem.

And now I would like to share this amazing gift with you!  This beautiful monogram will be featured throughout our wedding and I couldn't be happier!

Designed by the wonderfully talented Liv Caughey

If you want to check out some of Liv's other work, you can visit her Etsy Shop: OliviaCaugheyDesigns

Wedding Wednesday: We Have a Venue!

I still can't believe I'm getting married in less than a year, but now that we have decided on our venue it feels all that more real!

One of the hardest parts of this whole wedding planning was trying to figure out where we were going to get married.  Andrew's family is from So Cal, while my family is in Nor Cal!  We had thought about splitting the difference, but honestly that didn't make much sense to us.  After a few months humming and hawing over different places we finally settled on our small town in Arizona.

That's when the real work set in, because now we had to actually choose a venue.  In total I saw about 7 different venues, but Andrew and I both fell in love with the second one we looked at.  It really came down to 2 incredible, but entirely different locations and we have finally chosen one.  It's the first one we both loved.

I know it's still a year out but I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders.  Now we can finalize our Save the Dates and get those out to everyone!  Of course once we decide on those I'll share them with everyone!

A sneak peak at our venue!