it's been a while!

Poor sad lonely blog! :(

It's been a busy summer and I've been trying to think about where I want to take this lil old blog of mine.  I love fashion blogs, house beautification & interior design blogs, and overall lifestyle blogs.  I still love looking at wedding blogs, but now I try to use them as inspiration for other parties & events! This could turn into a lovely combination of all the above (since I'm light-years away from actually being able to call myself a real "blogger"!...maybe someday!).

But for now, check out some of the blogs I linked to above!  I'll be back soon with a better direction for 29 South :)

Some of my favorite shots

One of my bridesmaids just asked me - "HOW are you going to choose which pictures to include in your wedding album?" And she is totally right!  Jack Looney gave us over 1200 pictures, I posted about 300 on facebook, but there were hundreds more I adore!  Maybe our wedding album will have multiple volumes?  Anyone know where I can find an XL Photobook? :)

Here are a few more of my favorite shots from the BIG day:

(Photobooth!)

What I love about the way Jack shot these pictures is that he was able to capture SO MUCH emotion!  Sure Adam and I took some "staged" pictures (like the one of us along the fence) but so many of the ones I adore are the candid ones that really seem to grasp all the amazing things we were feeling throughout the day! There are tons of other pictures I could post here - especially of the photo booth!  If you are contemplating having one at your wedding (or even a party) DO IT!  They are a blast to look through :)

*all of the above photos were snapped by Jack Looney Photography! 

the kiss!

Jack Looney did a great job capturing all of our emotions throughout the day, and this one (along with many others!) is one of my favs:

...more to come!

Vendors in Review (Part 1)

All along we kept saying to each other "we have the BEST vendors!" And it was true! I think it is definitely a testament to Charlottesville and the great people it produces (no joke).  It's far enough south that the people are sweet and patient.  Bur far enough north that people still have a sense of urgency and promptness (haha, sorry to just totally stereotype the north & south!).

I'll start off this review by saying I'd recommend each and every vendor to another couple getting married (or anyone throwing a big party!).  I know I'm biased (hey, this is the first {and only} wedding I'll do!), and that people have different budgets and visions to work with - but every one of these people/companies were amazing to work with!

So, without further adieu...the vendor rundown:


Ceremony: St. Paul's Memorial Church
Reception: King Family Vineyards
Wedding Dress: Priscilla of Boston (Platinum line)
Wedding Shoes:  J Crew
Groom's Suit: Jos. A Banks
Bridesmaids dresses: J Crew
Groomsmen suits: Jos. A Banks
Groom's & Groomsmen ties: J Crew
Flower girl dress: Priscilla of Boston
Wedding jewelry: earrings- borrowed from my mom; necklace- Priscilla of Boston; engagement & wedding rings: Princess Jewelers
Day of Hair: Bristles (they also did Meredith's, my mom's, and my aunt's hair!)
Day of Make-up: DIY (ha!), but seriously, I did my own.  I didn't want to risk hating the way my face looked!
Wedding Coordinator: Kate FitzGerald from I Do Details Events (and she did way more than just the day-of stuff!)
Flowers: Woodmont Designs
Band: 10 Spot (via Sam Hill Entertainment)
Caterer: 20 South Catering
Rentals: Festive Fare
Cake: Paradox Pastry
Getaway Car: Albemarle Vintage Limousine 
Wedding night accommodations: The Boar's Head Inn
Wedding stationery: some of DIY, but the Save the Dates and Invitations were Wedding Paper Divas
Calligrapher: Left Handed Calligrapher 
Honeymoon (!):  Oxygen Jungle Villas (ok, not really a "vendor" but they were so amazing so they totally deserve a shout-out)


...phew.  I plan to review all of the vendors, but like I said, we LOVED them! And can't thank them enough for helping our entire wedding (from the beginning stages to the actual day) such an amazing experience.
:::round of applause!:::

Back as a MRS!!

As you can tell, it's been a little busy lately and this blog got the short end of the stick!  I'm back now from the pre-wedding craziness, the wedding itself (which was ahhh-mazing!!!), and our splendid honeymoon in Costa Rica!!  I want to recap all of them, but first here are a few sneak peeks from our wedding photographer:

Jack Looney's Blog: http://jacklooney.com/blog/?p=2641

Erin McDermott White (the creative chick who made our b'maids earrings!): http://erinmcdermott.com/bridal-jewelry/blair-adam-at-king-family-vineyards

it was seriously the BEST BEST time! starting the moment we left work on Wednesday May 4th, all the way through the honeymoon.  We felt so much love and support and EXCITEMENT from everyone!  Sure a few things went wrong, and there were definitely some nerves before we walked down the aisle, but at the end of the day we were married!!  And we couldn't be happier! :)

EEEP!

long lost blog!!  i have not been able to access the editing tool and have been wanting so badly to update this!

wow. we have done so much.  we have everything printed.  we have packaging for s'mores.  we have our readings.  we have our table names.  we have small details. signage. a guest book.  a PLAN!  the count down isn't months or weeks, it is days!  our rehearsal dinner is on the 10 day forecast (which means our wedding day is on the 10 day forecast tomorrow, holy schmoly!).

people will arrive in c'ville next thursday (cinco de mayo!) and we don't have a lot planned for that day except organizing ourselves, putting together the hotel bags, and dinner!  friday starts the wedding-official-fun! bridal luncheon, boys' golf outing, rehearsal, dinner, welcome cocktails, etc!

it's so soon! and I just can't believe it! i am going to try to update this with more behind-the-scenes... but this little BTB is bizzzzy!

So much to catch up on!

This will serve a place holder for the MANY posts I am due to write!  Which will include:

• Bachelorette Party!!  Affectionately dubbed the #BBBB (Blair's Bachelorette Beach Bash). It is safe to say my girls spoiled me rotten!
• Engagement pictures: a good friend took them for us in & around Georgetown on a mild mid-March Saturday.  We got some great shots and now feel more comfortable in front of the camera!  I have trouble uploading pics to Blogger at work, but I'll post a few to Facebook :)
• Bridal Shower: oh boy...what a fun night!  It was "entertainment" themed and we had the best time.  There were so many small touches (Blair & Adam M&M's, napkins, cookies, etc) and the food was outstanding!  We had a ball.
• Whirlwind trip to C'ville: we have another coming up this weekend (hair-trial!), but the one we did in March covered big topics - wedding ceremony, finalizing the cake, tasting the white wines!

I can't believe we are about to hit the 1 month mark!  Which also falls on our 6 year anniversary (dang!).  Not sure we'll be doing any celebrating together, though.  For Adam leaves with his buds for his BACHELOR party. Charleston, SC - you've been warned.

Updates with pictures are next...promise!

Fancy Plates

I am so looking forward to this upcoming weekend (yes, it is only Monday!).  My "entertainment" themed wedding shower is Saturday night (hosted by 3 of my momma's friends), and during the day Saturday we're taking engagement pictures with one of our friends!  She is building her photography-portfolio and needs to take shots of couples- so we happily agreed to help her out ;)  And the weather seems to be cooperating! 60s & 70s by the end of the week, yeehaw!  And Sunday is going to be a whirlwind trip of wedding to-do's in C'ville... but that's for a future post :)

But let me get back on topic!  The topic of fancy plates (aka China!).  Adam and I went back & forth on whether or not we wanted to register for china.  My mom breaks out her china for big dinners (parties, birthdays, holidays), and I love hers (gold rimmed with fruit on it).  Adam's parents have a few sets of china, so they were on-board with us registering for it, too!  So off we went to Bloomingdale's (who has one of the best registry systems, if you ask me)...and there we spent the next three hours....

Yep. Talk about indecisive.  The first pattern we chose is so hideous I'm not even going to describe it.  I'm not even sure how we talked ourselves into it?!  Gag.  We were totally lost!  Luckily my mom was able to meet us up at the store and gently guided us to some patterns that weren't so hard on the eyes.  We ended up combining 2 patterns - one is blue & white and the other is gold & white.  I think they will be super versatile, and both of our moms signed off on the patterns :)

One tradition I've heard about recently is doing china Sundays.  I think it would be so fun to have an immediate excuse to use our nice dishes!  Not sure we'll do this every week, but perhaps once a month is a good goal? :)

Oh! And some of the RSVPs are coming in!! So fun to get them and see the sweet/funny/loving things people have written on them.  

Wedding Crasher

Confession: this weekend Adam, Meredith, and I snuck into the Fairfax Bar Association's (black tie) Gala (so, not technically "wedding" crashing, but close enough).  But we had a good reason to be there!  10 Spot, our wedding band, was playing!

See, Adam and I went about this whole "choosing  wedding band" somewhat unconventionally.  When I was the social chair for Pi Phi, I worked closely with Sam Hill Entertainment (the booking dudes for bands in C'ville).  So I figured I'd use them again for this big event! And to my pleasant surprise, my contact from my Pi Phi days responded back to me! He said he saw my name pop up on the request list - sweet!  He immediately sent us a list of bands that fit our qualifications (we wanted a band that would keep people dancing, but definitely had to keep budget in mind).  In the end, we got the "best band bang for our buck" and just went for it... without hearing them live!  I know, that's pretty much a wedding-planning-sin.  But, we were working under tight time restrictions (i.e. they were booking up FAST) and I totally trusted Andrew (my guy at Sam Hill).

So when we heard that 10 Spot was going to be in our area for a gig, we knew we had to check them out!  And thank GOODNESS we trusted Andrew's advice - this band was rockin'.  People didn't leave the dance floor! They played crowd favorites! They sounded awesome! Oh, I just can't wait!  I knew they would be great, but it was a huge sigh of relief to know that they'll sound good live.

We only stayed for 5 or 6 songs.  I think I was blushing the entire time we were there.  We weren't doing anything wrong (Andrew told the band we'd come), but of course, the hundreds of lawyers + spouses had NO CLUE who these kids were, clearly NOT in black tie (Mere & I had casual dresses on, but kept our coats on the entire time! Adam had on khakis & a blazer).  Ah oh well :)

60 days!

Bridal-plasty

I think most brides-to-be think about self-improvement at some point during their engagement. Whether they want to tone up, lose some lbs, clear up their skin, or the like.  Some, like the contestants on E!'s "Bridalplasty" go so far as to make some major changes. As for me, it's a bit of a combo! Let me explain...

I am making a sort-of major change. I got Invisalign! I had always wanted to straighten my teeth (which got a little "crowded" when my wisdom teeth came in), and one of our daily-deals websites had an offer for Invisalign I couldn't refuse (and it was through our family's orthodontist, too!).  I'm currently on tray 5 of 13, and my teeth are noticeably straighter. I haven't had any side effects (i.e. no lisp while talking with them in), and I am now totally used to wearing them.  I'll be on tray 9 or 10 come wedding day, so definitely more than half-way there! So happy I did this.

I've started to get once-monthly manicures.  I see such a difference in my nails when they are healthy, and I am always excited to make an excuse to pamper myself :)  This is also a relatively inexpensive "maintenance" as mani's are about $10.

Gym & diet - I wouldn't say I'm on a "diet," but I am now (...with 9 weeks to go!!!) super conscious about what I'm eating/drinking.  I'm limiting my weekday alcohol intake (bye-bye glass of wine..or 2...after work), increasing my veggies, and watching my sweet-tooth. Again, not looking to lose weight, more just about keeping healthy!  I've also tried to incorporate more running into my work-outs, as I feel like that gives me the best results.  My arms & back will be the most "exposed" (spoiler alert Adam - my dress isn't a mid-driff or see-through corset! Sorry!), so I am trying to keep up with my Body Pump classes, push-ups, etc..

Skin and makeup - my skin loves to play tricks on me.  One day it'll be cool, calm, and clear.  The next? A disaster!  I've heard from other brides that they tried to wear less make up in the days and weeks leading up to their weddings to allow their faces to "breathe." As long as I don't have major puffy eyes or a big old zit to cover-up, I think I might try this tactic, too!

Anyone else have good pre-wedding trips as far as health & beauty go? :)

Playing Catch Up

This is getting REAL.

We're under 80 days (!) and have been able to keep the productivity in full-gear.  Besides all of the small details we've done over the last few weeks (ordered our sparklers for the send-off, scheduled hair appointments, looked into flower girl baskets and moss letters), I had one HUGE detail to check off my list...MY FIRST DRESS FITTING.

We went this past Saturday, which worked out well because Adam was out of town (yep, I totally lied when I said he wasn't going to be doing any more international traveling before the wedding! Whoops!).  So Mere, my mom, and I made a day of it - dress fitting, a yummy lunch, and some wedding-related errands!  The fitting was not only AMAZING (y'all, I love my dress!), but it took a lot longer than we had anticipated.  I was able to try it on with all of my accessories so we really got the entire-package-look :) I go back at the end of March for my next fitting, and then once more before the big day!

We're headed to FLORIDA tomorrow for a wedding weekend - one of Adam's buds from high school is getting hitched.  I can't wait to wear flip-flops, drink a cold drink, and sit by the pool.  The weather is looking niiiice.  Of course, I'll have to stick to strapless bathing suits (if you remember me posting about my tan lines from this ancient post!).

Enjoy the warmer temps!!

100.

In exactly 100 Days I'll be getting ready to walk that aisle and become Adam's wife (!!!!).

Crazy how fast these last few months have gone by, but I knew they would.  And now the real work fun starts :)  We had an insanely productive weekend in Charlottesville (Mere, my momma, Mrs. Matthews, and Kate joined Adam & I for the weekend) - we crossed off lots from our "to-do" list, got great ideas, ate TONS of yummy food, and just got to spend a lot of great time together.

My mom and Mere have all the pictures of the weekend (in all the hustle & bustle of getting ready I completely forgot my camera) but we did document the trip!  It was so great tasting all the food we'll be serving at the reception (y'all better come HUNGRY!), choosing our linens/serving plates/etc (I'm so excited about the final product), and - one of the highlights - meeting with the organist to choose the songs for our ceremony (and on May 7th there will be 100% chance of bride-tears, seriously, no way around it! I started tearing up just hearing the song I'm going to walk out to with my dad).  Sheesh.

With just 100 days to go (well, the weekend actually kicks off in 98 days!), we're trying to cross off as many small tasks that we can get done NOW instead of later.  I've been spending time researching decorations, DIY projects, etc. I can now picture the ENTIRE weekend and it is going to be a dream come true - we just have to get it all done :)

We're off for a weekend of skiing with our family!  We're actually heading to a place we were this summer for my friend & b'maid, Nancy's wedding! Yay!

P is for PRODUCTIVE

Man alive - this whole wedding thing really is starting to come together!!  Adam was out of town for a week with business (hopefully his last international trip before the big day!), so I found myself with some free time on my hands... luckily I used it wisely (instead of just watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills).  We conquered a lot!

• I have my rehearsal dinner dress!  It seems funny that I've had my wedding dress for months and haven't really given that much thought to what I'll wear the rest of the weekend.  BUT, did I hit the jackpot a Neiman Marcus :)  The morning we went shopping, I had brunch with a few girlfriends and told them, honestly, I didn't think I was going to buy anything - I didn't know what I wanted!  But when I saw the dress, it hit my like a ton of bricks! I am SO excited about it... but I am not going to post it here :) 
• WEDDING INVITATIONS ARE ORDERED!! Holy-weight-off-my-shoulders.  We aren't really "paper" people, so we had no clue what we wanted these to end up looking like.  We ended up ordering something very "Blair & Adam" that is still simple, modern, and classic.  We also ordered some of our other "wedding stationery" (escort cards, out of town bag labels, etc.) - I love progress!
• The ultimate wedding-vendor meet-up takes place in 4 days - yeehaw!  Both of our moms will be with us as we do our tastings, meet with wedding planner, all of our venues, and more.  Plus, I love a good excuse to head down to Charlottesville ;)
• The smaller stuff: Mere & I went to Michaels to get our craft-on.  I get great ideas from blogs, but really needed to see what was available to us from the stores in our area. There are some things I am not going to make (like monogrammed moss letters), but others I'll definitely tackle (like the rustic wooden "Wedding" sign I'd love to have outside of King Family Vineyards).  For these DIY projects - the earlier you start the better!

The entire day/weekend is really starting to take shape, and I can totally "picture" it now :)  OH, and we're creeping up on 100 days... AHHH!!! :)