Real Wedding Inspiration

Like most newly engaged gals, I've been surfing the old worldwide-web for wedding inspirations (here, here, here, and here), but many of the "real weddings" being featured are more "Anthropologie" and less "J Crew."  And let's just say, Adam & I are more J Crew than Anthro (nothing against Anthro, I have pleanty-o-things from there! I'm just a bit more preppy at heart).  And when all of the real weddings being featured aren't really the type of wedding-look we're going for, it makes "feeling inspired" a little tricky!

That all ended when a sorority sister of mine was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings this summer.  Devon was a 4th year when I was a first year, so we didn't really know each other, but she was a gal I always remembered.  Sweet, beautiful, down to earth, and pretty preppy!  Last September, Devon and her husband, Dan, just had the most BEAUTIFUL wedding in Charlottesville!  There are so many things from this wedding that inspire me I'm not sure where I begin. 

First, I love her theme.  She carried it out the entire way through.  This is really pushing me to come up with our "theme" and make sure it's consistent from the Save-the-dates to the final day!  Second, I loved how they used the indoor/outdoor space at their reception.  I hope we can do the same!  And she had YARD GAMES - which is exactly what we're planning to do :)  Third, so much of what she did was original (at least to me!).  The calendar with birthdays, the "happily ever after" cards, and the whiskey & cigar tent - loved it!  One thing we're still trying to figure out is how we want to set up our "guest book."  I can tell ya it won't be a book with just people's signatures :)  Finally, everything looked crisp and clean. Nothing was too overdone, nothing was too over the top, and everything was in its place.  Sometimes these "Anthro" weddings have so much going on, it's hard to tell what they all mean! I think Devon and Dan were able to get their message across without too much confusion: we love each other, we're getting married, please help us celebrate & have a good time!

Check out Devon & Dan's highlight here in Martha Stewart Weddings.  Enjoy!

Our Summer Whirlwind

My two weeks in Greece were absolutely blissful!  It was a great time to relax, recharge, and think about all that has happened (and will happen!) this year.  I guess you could call it "soul searching," as I was also able to reflect on some of the this summer's "milestones."  This summer has been a whirlwind - starting with our engagement party, family trips, selling my car, and now, another huge step - starting a new job!!  When Adam and I first got engaged, I decided to put my job search on the shelf.  I thought I would be CRAZY for planning a wedding AND getting adjusted to a new job all in one year!  However, an opportunity arose that I just couldn't pass up!  The timing was just right, and taking this job seemed like the exact right thing to do. I will have a solid 8 months in my new position before the wedding.  Honestly, it feels like getting a new job was the last piece to my frantic-summer-puzzle!  And now that I've completed my job search, I can get back to the wedding :)

I'll admit - we've all but taken the summer off!  Theknot.com tells me I've completed 99% of the things I needed to do 12-9months before the wedding (yippie!).  But we're creeping up on 8 months... which brings with it A LOT!  My original goal was to have our STD's out by Labor Day (ehh...maybe that'll happen?).  But seeing that we haven't finalized the guest list (well not entirely!), asked all the wedding party (...crickets...), finalized our colors (we're SO close!), taken engagement pics, we've got a few obstacles in our way :)  We know what needs to be done, and I'm really excited about all the planning we have left to do and I'm trying to savor every moment of our engagement!