Six Months From Today...

...I'll officially be a Mrs.  My heart smiles every time I think of it.  I've looked at Justin several times over the course of the afternoon and just contently sighed knowing that in six short (cause I know they're gonna fly by) months, we'll be saying our vows, exchanging our rings and making this thing legal.  This little spark that grew into a huge fire in about six weeks.  

I remember the evening I met Justin, something was different.  I was drawn to this man who looked so familiar, yet I didn't know him.  I, never a forward one, started a conversation because I simply needed to.  Because I was intrigued.  Six weeks later (two weeks after making ourselves an official couple) I had no question in my mind that this was it, he was my last.  And I'll happily tell you just as I told him a few weeks back- if I ever needed any reassurance that this was the real thing for me, it's the first long term relationship I've been in that I haven't once questioned if there was someone else out there for me.  I haven't had any reason to.  Cause Justin is it.  

So here's to six more months of planning, crafting, loving and laughing.  And the years and years we'll have together after.  

Photo by Reggie Beehner

Drool-Worthy Weddings: Pass the Milk Please!

I love perusing wedding blogs that feature lots and lots of every day weddings.  I love to see other people's visions brought to life, the colors, the flowers, the overall feel of their special day.  And this particular wedding that I ran across today on Style Me Pretty not only made my heart smile, it made my mouth water.  I think you'll see why.

(Source)

Flavored milks, a smorgasbord of desserts, what's not to love about this awesome wedding? And did you see the ruffles on the bride's dress?!  To die for (my love of ruffles will be explored soon, I promise). I think that the country feel to it all tugs on my heart strings just a bit as well.  I bet this was an awesome event to attend!

Country In the City: Engagement Pics, Part 1

Justin and I are both country born and raised. Although I must say I consider myself a little more country overall than he is (but don't tell him I said that). So it was only natural that when considering locations for our engagement session with Reggie, a country scene was at the top of the list. So we started thinking about places around the city that were, well, not the city. Lexington and the surrounding counties are known for large, beautiful horse farms, but we were steering in the direction of something a little more quaint. Enter our backyard.

Okay, it's not exactly our backyard, but it is at the end of the road we live off of. Earlier in the summer, the farm located there was split in two by that road in order for a new medical park to be built. Apparently some decisions were made after the fact to not build anything (at least at this time), so the road was just opened as a sort of shortcut. To the right, there was a field with the tall silo and round bales of hay. I had my eye on that spot for months. Friends of a friend said it belonged to the city, so go ahead and tromp around a bit for pictures (basically until someone may ask us to leave the premise). Well, two weeks before our scheduled pictures, the city came and put up a fence around the property. Peachy.

After licking my wounds, Justin and I started taking drives around the outskirts of the county looking for anything that remotely resembled what I had in my head. And then we rediscovered Kelley Farms. Famous for their 10 acre corn mazes in different designs every year (this is their 4th), Justin and I discovered them last fall but were unable to make it out. Once this fall started getting closer, we kept an eye out for opening day. I happened to drive by one day just to take a peek and knew that this was where we had to be. Plank fences with foddershocks on the posts, round bales of hay everywhere, corn fields (I mean, it is a corn maze after all) and a barn. And not just any barn, an old barn with lots of character. After a few emails and an actual visit to talk with the manager's mother, we met up with Reggie one Friday night and, well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (for the full effect, click on the images to make larger).



All photos by Reggie Beehner

Stay tuned for part 2!

Did Someone Say Cake?

Justin loves me (yay!).  And he's happy to be marrying me.  In general, his opinions on wedding matters are few and far between.  However, there have been a few instances where my assumption of his non-opinion has been blown out of the water (wedding color palette anyone?).  The most surprising thus far?  The cake.  Or at that point, the lack thereof.

Valentine's Day 2009.  And yep, that's a heart made of  Red Velvet cupcakes (personal photo)

Justin loves cake.  And anything to do with cakes (I've recently gotten him on board with Cake Pops, but that's another story).  So when I expressed my thoughts of having wedding cupcakes instead of wedding cake, I found myself a little taken aback to hear him say no.  "But you love cupcakes!" I remember saying to him.  Since he'd squashed my idea so quickly, I may have put up a small fight until he gave me a viable reason.  "Because cupcakes make me the think birthday parties, not weddings."  Fair enough.

Case in point: me with my birthday cupcakes this year (personal photo)

So back to the drawing board I went, determined that we weren't going to settle for just a traditional wedding cake.  While planning our budget, I had decided on cupcakes not only for their general cuteness, and uniqueness, but also for their DIY qualities.  We could save a bundle by making our own for the guests and just having a small cake made for us to cut. 

After another evening of perusing the usual wedding blogs, it hit me.  Candy buffets were becoming a big hit with newlyweds-to-be, so what it we tweaked the concept and had, wait for it... a CAKE buffet?  I mentioned the idea to Justin (okay, I may have ran excitedly to the bedroom where he was putting up clothes, but whatever) and held my breath when he paused.  "Well, I like cake.  And I like buffets.  So sounds good to me."  Score!

Armed with our new cake buffet plan, I started scouring for inspiration pictures and stories.  Stay tuned to see what I found!



Oh, What a Feeling

In all technicality, Justin and I have been engaged since last December.  That's when we sat down to officially map out a timeline, a budget and a savings plan for this shindig.  I didn't expect that a silly (but pretty) ring on my finger would make any difference in how I felt or perceived things between the two of us.  But I was wrong.

Justin and I last Christmas (personal photo)

I won't lie.  I had butterflies start fluttering when I turned around that evening on the Natural Bridge and saw Justin down on one knee.  I had thought I'd pick up on his plans to officially propose before hand (because he's not all that skilled in surprises), but he got me good.  I was as giddy as a girl who hadn't spent the previous four months already working on wedding plans.  I was still just as excited to call our parents and a few close friends to share the news even though everyone around us knew we were going to get married.  And I'm thankful that I got to experience every piece of those emotions.

Did I expect a ring to change how I felt about Justin and I?  No.  Did it in fact change things?  Not exactly.  I still felt the same love and excitement to be marrying that man, it was all just a little more real. Putting the first deposit check down on the venue was my first "I'm getting married!" moment.  Looking down and seeing the symbol of our impending nuptials just brought it all home that (at that point), 7.5 months in the future, Justin and I would be saying I do.  And it was kind of surreal.

It's been easier to call Justin my fiance.  And I think that some people outside of our closest friends take this whole planning process a little more seriously now that we're "officially" engaged.  I actually had my first "Wait, you all were planning the wedding before you were even engaged?" response a few weeks ago while telling a friend of a friend about mine and Justin's story.  While her tone was more of a 'Pshh, who does that?', I just shook my head and said "Yep" like it was the most natural thing in the world.  Because for us, it was.

Any other ladies in waiting out there feel like things were a little more "real" after getting your ring?

Guilty Pleasure Series: Candy Buffets

Every person has their own guilty pleasures.  The tv shows we watch, music we listen to, fashion items we drool over but don't generally share with others.  For some, it's because of embarassment (for instance, I own the following CD's from back in the day: Aqua, both Ace of Bases and Cher's Greatest Hits.  Okay, I freely admit Cher cause she's awesome), some it simply falls under their "fantasy" category.  Hey, a girl can dream.

So my guilty pleasure series will spotlight those trends, touches and traditions (or non-traditions) that I'd love to have for my very own, but either can't afford, can't smush in or it's just simply too fancy for us but I still think it's fun/pretty :)

First up, Candy Buffets.

(source)

I'm pretty sure, as with a lot of things, I first saw the concept of a candy buffet on Weddingbee.  Firstly, what a perfect way to say thank you to guests for celebrating with you (and adding an uber cute fun factor to the room)!  And it's so simple.

Step 1: Pick out candies that either have meanings amongst friends and family, are just favorites of the bride and groom or match the general color scheme (which is my personal favorite).

(source)

Step 2: Procure gorgeous glass pieces to fill with said candy.

Step 3: Toss in some DIY jar labels, able cloth and overall decor.

(source)

Step 4: Give each guest the perfect sized package to fill with scoops of those candies until the seams burst.

(source)

Your family and friend get to ooh and aah over the beautiful setup, your wedding favor doubles as room decor and there are plenty of smiles to go around because I mean, really, who doesn't smile when candy is involved?

And I'll let you in on a smidge of a secret- the candy buffet is an inspiration for one piece of our reception, but the full story has to come later :)

A Band for the Boy

Justin is a man's man.  He loves his cars, his guns and his politics.  You'll never find him at an art show or a band concert (other than something with some rock to it).  And he definitely is not a wearer of jewelry.  The only "accessories" I've seen him don would be his watch, and more recently the paracord bracelet he had me make him (but of course that's only because it's a survival aid should he ever need ten feet of paracord).  So I was a little concerned that we were never going to find a wedding band that fit him.  Figuratively, not literally.

Justin during his first duck hunting trip last year in Arkansas (personal photo)

The second trip Justin and I took ring shopping turned out to be just the ticket for me.  So while I was feeling lucky, I suggested he take a peek at wedding bands to see if there were any he felt suited him.  He grazed over the white golds, yellow golds and anything with diamonds and headed straight for the tungsten offerings.  After some discussion with Brandon, we felt that tungsten would be the best choice for my man.  Durable, scratch resistant and even though it'd take a little work, it wouldn't be entirely impossible to remove from his finger should anything ever happen (unlike titanium, which is damn near indestructable).

After finding a darker colored band he liked better than most, Brandon brought out a bag of bands not displayed for Justin.  As a fellow car guy, Brandon assured Justin he had just the one for him.  And boy did he ever.

(source)

A comfort fit Tungsten band with beveled edges and a strand of carbon fiber through the middle.  Masculine, unique and not blaringly "wedding ring", Justin tried on the band and was probably as happy as a non-jewelry wearer could be.  And my heart soared.  Crisis averted.

A little later, my Flo emailed me mentioning how she and Brian were looking at bands on Overstock.com.  As someone who'd never been on the site, I didn't think about them carrying jewelry.  Sure enough, there was tons.  Out of curiosity, we searched for tungsten rings to see if they carried the one Justin had picked out, and it turns out they did- for about 1/10th of the price!

Admittedly, I went back and forth for quite some time before ordering his band from the website.  As I told him many times, I didn't want him to think me cheap in buying an under $50 band for him when he'd be paying much, much more for my engagement ring (I'm actually buying both mine and his bands in order to help even out the cost).  He was finally able to convince me that he'd rather wear a $50 band and not have to worry about replacement cost if something should happen to it while working on a car, etc.  And that any money saved individually at this time would only mean we would be that much more ahead when married.  Such a smart man :)

So I ordered the band, received it within a few days and it looked identical to the one in the store.  He tried it on briefly a few times to make sure it fit, and then we tucked it safely away into a drawer.  I'll admit that I sometimes daydream back to seeing his hand with the ring on and it makes me smile.

Any of you end up finding an important piece for the wedding day somewhere unexpected?

God is Great, Beer is Good and People are Crazy

Thank you, Billy Currington, for summing life up so succinctly :)  Because yes sir, people are crazy.  And I may well fall into that category after the story I'm about to tell.  But I'll leave that up to you dear readers.

As I've said before, Justin and I had mid-May in mind when we first started planning.  Unfortunately, our reception venue was only available April 23rd, April 30th, and July forward.  Since I had originally wanted October of this year before discussing budgets (crazy to think that we'd have possibly been married right now if that had of worked out), there was no way we were waiting until July.  The 23rd is my dad's birthday and also serves as Easter weekend next year, so the 30th sort of picked itself.  And why does that make me crazy?  That gives me exactly 15 days after the end of tax season to tie up any loose ends and put the finishing touches on our day.  Cue screams.

As an accountant, my life between the beginning of March and April 15th usually starts before dark, ends after dark and includes only an occasional meal with the boy.  Since we also work Saturdays, my twice monthly trips home to see the family are a little tough as well (my mom works Sundays).  Translated, we're trying to get as much as we can taken care of by the end of the year so I don't have to worry about much during tax season.  Sometimes it's easier said than done.

Throw in me currently studying for my CPA exam, the holidays, my need for DIY, etc., and you have the makings of a potential spontaneous combustion.  But I'm keeping cool and taking it all in stride.  At least until it's down to the wire and I'm having my usual problems with giving up control and delegating tasks.  Sigh.  Fortunately at this point, we've squared away most of the big decisions with vendors and locations (except for bartenders), so most everything that has to wait until those 15 days are DIY projects that shouldn't take a huge amount of time, but combined will take up several days.

I commend Justin for his concern while we were discussing the pros and cons of the 30th.  "Are you sure that's enough time?" he kept asking.  And I kept telling him yes.  With my MOH coming in early in the week, Justin's parents taking days off work and my mom being off on Friday's anyway, I think we'll have this thing in the bag, especially since several of the DIY projects have to wait until the end (I'll be talking about those soon-promise!).

Anyone else put themselves in a bit of a time crunch pickle when it came to picking out your date?

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes...

Well, if that's the case I'm going to have to say no thank you Cinderella, cause if last night's dream were to come true then I'm just a glutton for punishment.

It was the wedding day. We were having the ceremony outdoors at a farm. When my family and friends and I got to the location, there was a birthday party going on inside the building we were to get ready in, but they promised they'd be out by a certain time. I didn't have my hair fixed, so I borrowed a curling iron from one of the other girls. The plan was to start an hour before kick off. Oh, how miserably we failed.

With half an hour to go before the ceremony, things were still coming up that had made it impossible for me to get ready yet. I was getting ready to throw some curls into my hair when all of a sudden, one of Flo's friends convinces us we need to go grab something to eat. Suddenly it's 8:00 (yep, apparently the wedding was supposed to be at 8, and of course it was still bright and sunny in my dream), and I realize that we're late. The girl tells me it's not a big deal because it's my wedding and who cares about the guests and I yell at her "I do!" So we high tail it back to the venue.

At this point, we're thirty minutes late, I'm trying to decide whether we should go on with it or just reschedule (if only it were that easy, right?), when I realize a few other things. We don't have flowers.  No one set up the tables for the reception. I haven't seen (nor remember making) the first cake to be served and where was my groom?  The photographer kept asking when he could come in to take the getting ready shots and there was honestly nothing to shoot at that point except chaos.

Chalk it up to another wedding nightmare. Oh, and did I mention that it was one of those annoying continuing dreams? The kind that after you wake up and go back to sleep, you dream a continuation of where you ended the first time? Both weird and not quality sleep friendly, lol.

Has anyone else had odd wedding related dreams?

Honoring Our Families

Today, my parents are celebrating their 30th anniversary.  30 years ago on this day, they stood in my great-grandparents yard amongst the fall leaves and said their I Do's in front of a small group of family and friends.  My dad wore a gray suit (with his tennis shoes, which my mamaw didn't discover until after everything was over with) and my mom a borrowed blue bridesmaid dress.  I loved passing by the framed pictures of that day and their honeymoon to Cumberland Falls every day when I was growing up. 

 

 At the family reunion this past summer (personal photo)

From the very beginning, it was important for Justin and I to include our parents somehow in the ceremony. I wanted to thank them for raising us, loving us and credit them publicly for their being role models for the marriage that lies ahead for the two of us.  Because not only have my parents now been together for three decades, Justin's parents will celebrate their 39th anniversary in February.  

I'll admit that while I enjoy the symbolism in a Unity Candle ceremony, I just wasn't feeling it was quite right for us. I wanted to do something a little different, but wasn't coming up with much. So I'd decided that if we did go ahead with the Unity Candle, we were going to change things up a bit. I've had it in my head for a long time that I not only wanted to make our mom's feel special, but our dads too, considering it was both of them that got us where we are today. So instead of the mom's walking in to light the small candles, I would have both sets of parents come up to light candles that Justin and I were holding, and then us light our Unity Candle. I felt it was a good representation of the two halves that made us. Then, I ran across something called a Hand Fasting Ceremony.

(source)

With roots in Europe, hand fasting was used as a commitment ceremony between two people to symbolize the binding of their two fates and lives.  As blessings are read by the priest, colored cords are tied around a couples hands, creating a "knot".  I've read in a few different places around the Interwebs that it's often referred to as one of the origins of the phrase "Tying the Knot", which is seemingly appropriate.  Since Justin is a history lover, I thought the back story was a nice nod to his likes, and would allow both his and my parents to take part by actually being the ones to tie the cords for us. 

I imagine we'll use cords in the shades of our wedding colors, blue, silver and red, with a yellow for my flowers thrown in so that each parent will have their own cord.  As a little extra, I read recently on Weddingbee where Miss Plaid laid out the meaning for each color of cord:

Blue: tranquility, patience, devotion, sincerity
Red: passion, strength, lust, fertility
Silver: treasure, values, creativity, inspiration
Yellow: charm, confidence, joy, balance

As our parents take turns laying the cords over our entertwined hands, our officiant will give the following blessings (my favorites of the many that I scoured across the Web):

Bless these hands of your best friend, young, strong and full of love for you, that will passionately love you through the years.

Bless these hands that will work along side your as together you build your future

Bless these hands that will comfort you in illness and wipe countless tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

Bless these hands that will tenderly hold your children and grandchildren, comfort them in grief and hold them in affection.

Bless these hands that will give you support and encourage you to chase your dreams.

And lastly, bless these hands that even when wrinkled and aged will still be reaching for yours.

I imagine that I'll have these blessings typed up and framed so that we can later display them and our tied cords in our home. 

Anyone else decide to go a different route than the Unity Candle?

The Prettiest Flower Girl in All the Land

Justin and I are both only children, so our close friends' kids will be the closest we ever get to having nieces and nephews. Because of this, I feel that it makes them that much more special to us in our hearts. So far, we're happy to say that we have one nephew, one niece and another little one on the way (only a week until we find out if it'll be a boy or girl!). Of course, this moment in time has been set aside for our niece, our pretty flower girl, Bailey Grace.

This was Bailey when I met her:

(photo by our friend Brittany, the group's "official" photographer)

4 months old, a head full of hair and still a little on the sleepy side for the most part. Yep, that's what our Big Girl looked like when Justin and I first started dating. As time went on and it started looking like this thing between Justin and I was legit, I was honored to assume the role as "Aunt Shana." And over the course of the last 3 years, I can't even begin to explain how she's stolen our hearts over and over again.

Taking her afternoon bottle at Aunt Brittany's bridal shower (photo by Brittany)

Keeping Uncle Justin on his toes during 4th of July in 2009 (photo by Brittany)

Bailey cheesing during the Horse Festival last month (personal photo)

There was never any question whether or not Bailey was going to be our flower girl, it was just kind of a given between Justin and I. I remember the day I emailed Nicole and asked if it'd be okay, and getting a response back that began "I almost cried." Since Bailey was too little for both Brittany and Brooke's weddings the past few years, I guess Nicole hadn't held her breath that Justin and I would ask, so she thought her beautiful little one would never get to be a pretty flower girl. Guess we fooled her :)

Since Bailey is so special to us, I wanted to do something special for her on the wedding day. Keeping in line with my DIY plans, I asked my mamaw if she would want to make Bailey's flower girl dress, just as she'd made tons of my church dresses when I was little. Of course she obliged and I ran out and found a pattern for a dress.

(source)

Bailey's dress will be made of red satin, with a silver satin cumberbund (and yep, that's a flower on the back!). The dress shown is floor length, but we'll probably only do three or four layers for Big Girl to make it a little less formal and a bit more springy. I can't wait until Mamaw gets started on it next year!

And I think that Bailey will just be thrilled with her role as flower girl on the big day, or probably as a princess as she'll call herself. See, she's already practicing :)

Bailey in her Cinderella dress she got for her 3rd birthday last weekend (photo by Brittany)

A Late Bloomer: Shoe Love

I am a self proclaimed tomboy, and pretty sure I always have been. My ability to style my own hair any other way than what I can do with a straightener is zilch, and it's only recently that I started watching some "How To" videos on Youtube in relation to makeup (thank you to this girl for helping me with my engagement pictures eye makeup). Now don't get me wrong, I love to get gussied up every once in a while for special occasions (and I figure I get excited because it doesn't happen very often). And I love feeling like I look pretty. It's just that most of the time (I mean, I definitely have my moments), I'm not quite into all the "girly" things in life like clothes and such.

Definitely feeling pretty here at my Flo's bachelorette party! (personal photo)

And then there's shoes. Those things that go on your feet that I could really care less about during the summer months (because flip flops and barefeet are where it's at when it's warm), but for some reason I am completely drawn to in the stores and online. Heels, boots, just every day kicks, I love them. And picturing myself in them, being the epitome of fashion for one split second (except for the fact I wouldn't really have the outfits necessary to make most of my choices appear to be in their natural habitat).

So what does this love of shoes have to do with my wedding? A reason to buy pretty shoes I normally wouldn't wear just to wear with my wedding dress you say? Why, by George, I think you've got it!

I've spent the past several years being an avid reader of Weddingbee, and if there's nothing else I've learned, it's that you get a free pass to splurge a little for the wedding day and buy a pair of knock out heels that you'll wear that day/night, and then put back into your closet as your special occasion go-to's. And in color. Yes, that's right. Color. And this girl has her heart set on something blue. Obviously it's one of our colors, it's one of my favorite colors ever (true story, both shirts I initially picked out for our engagement shoot were blue) and it would cover the "something blue" portion of the old saying. Unfortunately, there are a few stipulations. Go figure.

First, there's that splurging thing. I'm really only looking to spending around $30-40. So that cuts a lot of options out. Second, I wear somewhere between a 5.5 and 6, and my feet are narrow, so all of my dress shoes have to either be slide on summer heels, or have some sort of straps to hold them on. Third, my ankles hate me so I can't rock a stiletto. I think that may cover it all. Thus far, I've found one contender (albeit a smidge outside my budget and the heel height a bit questionable):

(source)

Meet Jeanette. The prettiest of the blues, with cute, girly bows that I think would go just perfect with my dress. And the ability to wear these cuties after-the-fact? Can't you just see them with a pair of jeans?

In the end, I have to wait until my dress arrives and it's time for the first fitting to really be able to shop for the shoe of my dreams. The star of the day (that'd be my dress, not me) comes with a custom hem from the designer, so we'll have to play around with the shoe height after she arrives.

Anyone else go against the grain and throw in a surprise splash of color underneath your dress?

A DIY Love Story

I come from a pretty crafty family. Several of my great grandmothers quilted, as does my paternal mamaw and my mom, so I've had the bug since I was little. My mom was always into some sort of crafts project as well, so anything hands on and creative, I love (that could explain my love affair with Etsy). So blame it on the genes (and slightly on the frugalness of our budget) that once the wedding plans were put into motion I knew there would be a whole list of DIY elements. First on the list: Tissue Poms!

(source)

Martha Stewart made me fall in love with these things. I was browsing the website one day, ran across the poms and luminarias and knew that I had to incorporate them in my decor somehow. Not only were they simple to make, tissue paper comes pretty cheap :) Ideally, I wanted to use the large poms to hang from the ceiling at our reception location. Unfortunately, the tall ceilings would require a tall ladder and then my Mom and future MIL would be responsible for getting them all down at the end of the night. So I had to go to a backup plan.

Instead of the large poms, I'll be making smaller ones in royal blue and red to string on twine to use at the ceremony site to mark off sections of chairs that we don't want guests sitting in (it's a large church and we'll have more than enough seating in the center sections). I'm also planning on revamping the napkin holder idea that Martha suggests by using twine and tying off the favor bags with an individual blue pom (not only will it be adorable, it'll help give a pop of color to each table, all of which will have silver table covers). You can see a few of my first attempts at making the poms here and here.

Stay tuned for more crafty shenanigans (and complaints from Justin about how the wedding stuff is taking over the back bedroom).

Pretty in...Well, You'll See

Ah, wedding colors. So many combinations out there to tempt and tease you while you're waiting for the day to come that the love of your life asks for your hand in marriage. And even more combinations to make you say "Oooh" and "Aaah" and "Arrrrggghhh!" Eh, such is wedding planning.

I knew that I wanted to do something different (I mean, that's sort of my M.O. for this whole shindig) in terms of colors for mine and Justin's wedding. Although red is a favorite of mine (I can't get enough of those deep, vibrant reds), several of my friends have had red weddings. Blue always came to the forefront of ideas when I was pondering, so I kept trying to figure out a good way to take it up a notch.

And then I started seeing inspiration boards like this:(source)

(source)

And I knew that this was it. Yellow and blue. Perfect for a happy, spring wedding. Unfortunately the Mister disagreed. He wasn't too keen on the fellas wearing yellow (just the first of many things I figured he wouldn't have an opinion on). Sigh. So back to the drawing board I went. Blue and chocolate brown? No, didn't like the brown. Teal and red? Nope, not a fan of green-ish blues. Yellow and gray? Hello...I don't like the yellow (oh, how I still pine over the yellow and gray combo). Shew, I didn't think I was ever going to put together a combination that we could both agree on.

But lo and behold, it happened. The skies parted and I finally put together the magic three: Royal blue, silver and red.

 (source)

And yes, it just so happens that our last friends to get married used Navy blue and silver, but the silver was underdone and my blue will be a different shade :) Oh, and did I mention the best part? I'll still get my blue and yellow combo via my and my bridesmaids' bouquets (bwahahaha). And I think that the dispersing of the colors will go something like this: bridesmaids in blue, the groom in a blue tie and vest, the groomsmen in silver ties and vests, and the flower girl & ring bearer in red with silver accents.

Now here's hoping that it looks as pretty in person as it does in my head :)

Let the Dreams Begin

I am a vivid dreamer. Most of the time my dreams are in color, are in depth and I can recount most of one the next morning when I wake up. For that matter, sometimes I end up doing silly things in my sleep (it's just gotten worse with age). It seems that my triggers for more intense dreams are running on empty, lots going on at work and/or stressful situations in every day life. Like wedding planning.

It came as a surprise to me that my first wedding related "nightmares" started happening 10 months before the big day. I've read the stories of all the horrific happenings in dreams recounted by numerous brides, but they always seemed to be a little closer to the wire than what I was at that point.

My first dream occurred while I was searching for my wedding dress. It was a pretty stressful month for me trying to find a dress (that's a story for another time though) and I remember having dreams several nights in a row involving the wedding. One in which I realized about an hour before the ceremony that we hadn't had a rehearsal the night before so no one knew what they were supposed to do. I borrowed a long jacket from one of the bridesmaids to cover up my dress in order to go upstairs and hunt down the rest of the wedding party to pass along instructions. Turns out I had no idea who the groomsmen were and I never did make it back downstairs to my girls. In the second dream, it hit me that it was the night before the wedding and we had forgotten to send out invitations. I was making lists of the guests for family members to call the next day (as it was already almost midnight) to beg people to ditch already made plans and show up. Leave it to me.

The second wave of dreams started when we were in the multiple week hunt for bridesmaid dresses. If nothing else, my dreams don't make me a selfish bride, since I was just as concerned for the girls as I was for myself. So funny the things that trigger our imagination and subconscious.

Anyone else have wedding nightmares during the planning process?

The Man Behind the Lens

I left off with Justin and I having a very big decision to make concerning our photographer. After our meeting with Reggie, we went home and sat down for a little chat.

One of the great things about Justin is that he's never willing to settle when there are other options out there for us to find. He made sure to point out that both of these photographers, while completely qualified in both personality and skill would work, there was one little thing that they were both lacking- a second shooter. And as is was one of my "must have's", where did that leave them (and me) standing?

My main reason behind wanting two photographers was that it simply afforded more special (and candid) moments to be captured throughout the day. No one can be two places at once, let alone fourteen with as much as goes on before, during and after a wedding and I wanted to make sure that all the little bits and pieces got documented. With that said, I had to remind myself that we have so many friends who, while they're not professional photographers, love to drag the cameras out at events to catch the funny (and sentimental) happenings. Because of the number of those friends, in the end I was comfortable in having just one professional photographer, so long as they fit the rest of the criteria.

After some discussion, it was decided that Justin and I would go with Reggie. And as I told Pablo in my very hard to write rejection note, it was nothing against his talents and I would be sure to sing his praises to others whenever the opportunity presented itself ("Do re mi!"). Overall, with Reggie we felt a better connection in personalities, vision for the wedding day, number of images that we'd end up with, willingness to experiment in order to get "those" shots, and a free engagement session (can't pass up free if it's good!). His pricing fell at about the halfway range of what I had budgeted and for goodness sakes, the man ends up with images like these:

(all photos by Reggie Beehner http://www.beehnerphotography.com/)

I am beyond excited to see what Reggie does for us on our wedding day. We actually had the first part of our engagement shoot over the weekend (post to come soon) and I was nothing but reassured in our choice. Reggie made us laugh, he kept us moving and I could see all the wheels turning in his head when he would look around at our surroundings to see what we could do next. Can't wait til part 2!

Breaking It Down

I have a confession to make. Actually, a reiteration since I've previously stated my inherent ability to over complicate any situation. I am constantly worried that I'm not including Justin enough in the decision making process for the wedding, whether it be about colors or songs or the number of pictures to hang at the reception. And at the end of the day that he'll walk away thinking that all of this was just one big waste of money (and my fault). And when he tells me that this is all me, that he really doesn't have an opinion about some things, my brain translates that into him not caring about the wedding at all. Enter being a complete girl and possible tears stage right.

I know that Justin cares about our wedding. I mean, it's the day he gets to marry me for goodness sakes :) No, but really, although he would love nothing more than to go to Vegas to get married and throw a big party when we get back, he realizes that there are some limitations that just don't allow that. So this is our option. Emphasis on "our". Justin's never been afraid to throw his thoughts and opinions out there to be heard, so I don't know why I think it's going to be any different in this situation. Oh wait, it's because I've already had bridal remorse. Yes, I know that when he says that he doesn't care about something, he really means "I could care less what color flowers you want to put on the tables, I just want to marry you." As a woman though, it's hard at times to wrap my brain around the words' true sentiment.

Over the weekend, I had a breakdown. A real, live, we're having a "discussion" over friggin' music, I need to take a break and then upon me starting the "discussion" over again, end up asking if I can cry because it'd make me feel better (not asking permission, more of a warning that I'm about to cry. I hate for people to see me cry). And then spent the next half hour doing so. Ugh.

I get caught up a lot with wanting to make this day equally us. This day isn't about me, it's not about him, it's about the two of us coming together. And I want our guests to walk out afterward and think to themselves "Wow, that was so Justin and Shana." But there are genuinely areas that guys just don't get into, like flowers. And handmade tissue poms. And the color of the table covers. He pointed out that the reception venue speaks for itself in being a nod to his love of bourbon when I made the point I was trying to incorporate as much of him into things as I could (I actually suggested using a Metallica song as the first dance, too). He's so good to me, even when I pick tiffs over nothing of substance.

Ladies, the planning can be overwhelming sometimes if you let it be. It can crawl under your skin, make you irrational and over analyzing and down right out of your mind stressed even if it's simply over whether you should use round or long tables (believe me, I've seen it). And when it gets to that point, cry. Yell into your pillow, sing an Alanis song at the top of your lungs in the car, just do something to help get it out. Then start with a fresh set of eyes and an open mind. And maybe apologize to the boy with a bowl of ice cream. That is the way to a man's heart, right?

My First Best Friend in Life Bridesmaid

My first best friend in life Bridesmaid, Cassie!

Cassie with her (almost) husband Ryan and his daughter Alexia

Cassie and I have known each other from birth practically. We grew up in the same church and lived no more than a quarter mile apart.

Cassie and I in the "horse show" at the fair when we were 5 (personal photo)

My mom babysat her and her brother Craig before Cassie and I started school, so my normal 4 year old routine was waking up before daylight, riding a minute up the road and then climbing into bed with Cassie to go back to sleep for a bit. Our days were spent playing, swimming and trying to "run away" (although Mom did catch us once).

Middle School Dance Team (personal photo via Brock Studio)

I lost touch with Cassie a bit during high school, although when we did get a chance to talk it was always as if no time had gone by. After graduation, we went our separate ways to college and several years later I ran into her at a high school football game. Our friendship was rekindled and we've been back together so to speak for several years now. And she was even there the night that Justin and I became official.

(personal photo)

Cassie herself has some happy things to celebrate in her life. She just finished up her MBA, and later this month she'll be getting married on a beautiful beach in the Dominican Republic, gaining a step-daughter in the process and then coming home with her new husband to celebrate with family and friends. I can't wait to see the video of the ceremony! She also completes what I lovingly call my group of "Married Maids", seeings how once she says "I do", all of my girls will be wives :)

Smile and Say Cheese!

Just as food was on the top of Justin's priority list, a good photographer was at the top of mine. Since memories sometimes fade slightly as time goes by (and you can't be everywhere or see everything at once), pictures are one of the best ways to help retell a story. And the ones that just simply take your breath away? Well, for this hopeless romantic, those are the shots I always love to see.

(source)

I began by setting my budget at a number I felt comfortable with and  that I had determined from reading various wedding blogs (Weddingbee anyone?) to be a fair amount. Justin was more than taken aback when I informed him my photography budget was only a bit shy of our overall food and alcohol budget, but then again, he's not really privy to the going rates. I then scoured the Interwebs for any and every photographer's website that offered wedding services around our general area. Turns out Lexington is a haven for artistic people :)

First, I put together my list of must haves. 1) 2 photographers. 2) The cost had to fall either at or below my budgeted amount (or if more, items included in a package that could be negotiated out). 3) Hands down, no matter what, print rights to the photographs so I could print however many I wanted, whenever I so pleased. I didn't want the expensive, fancy picture books (I could make my own) and I didn't need an engagement session because we have a good friend who is an up and coming photographer herself.

Plenty of photographers grabbed my attention at first glance. After making my initial list, I went through and delved deeper into the galleries and the price lists (when available) to get a better overall opinion of their work, availability and cost. After the first round, I found myself staring at about 8 names that made the cut. I sat Justin down to take a look at some of their work (such a trooper- not an artistic bone in his body but he'll tell you if he thinks something looks good or not) and we narrowed the list down to 4 possibilities. After not getting a response from one, and being a bit confused about the actual location of another (turns out they're based here in Lexington but do a lot of traveling to the Caribbean), Justin and I set up meetings with two locals (both of which turned out to be single photographers with the option of a second for an additional fee).

Pablo Alcala was the first to meet with us. A quiet guy with a great smile, Pablo's day job is a staff photographer for our local daily newspaper. It's actually funny because I may have met him during my senior year of high school when I was job shadowing with another staff photographer one day. He got a good laugh out of that one.

(source)

Pablo's style, despite being a news photographer, was not entirely documentary. He seemingly had a good eye for good lighting and candid shots. His work also showed a lot of bright colors, which was exactly what I was looking for in the overall (don't get me wrong, I like black & white shots but I don't want a whole album full of them). He had also been a second shooter several times for Ian Lozada, who photographed our friends Brittany and Mike's wedding (and their recent family pictures with newborn Drew!). We left our meeting with Pablo feeling comfortable with him as an option, although there were a few small concerns The number of shots that we would ultimately receive (with rights to print) seemed a little low for what we were expecting. And Pablo usually didn't do an all day shoot, just a few hours before the ceremony through the end of the reception. Still, he was a contender.

Our second meeting was with Reggie Beehner. I think he brought his toddler son along to tug at my heart strings :) Reggie started out in journalism, started playing around with photography and in the more recent years began teaching classes at Eastern Kentucky University. Reggie was very laid back, open to suggestions and questions that we had. He only works about 10-12 weddings a year, but I'd say as the interest continues (and his kids get older), he may start considering adding a few more along the way.

(source)

There was just a good vibe that Justin and I got from talking with Reggie. It was easy conversation and his style was definitely artistic. From the pictures on his blog, I could tell that he liked to play around with different angles and ideas, and he confirmed the fact for me by saying he normally came away from a wedding with about 4,000 images, half of which may be total garbage because he liked to take risks to try and make that amazing shot (he said on average his couples received 1200-1500 images because he reserved the right to maintain his dignity, lol). And the bonus? We would get a free engagement session.

As with any major decision for a wedding, Justin and I were left with a lot of thinking to do. Coming away from the day with great pictures to help cherish the memories was a big thing for me, and I wanted to be sure that we made the best decision about who could accomplish that.