wedding wednesday.

So if you read my last wedding Wednesday post, I hope I taught you about how important budgeting is..if not, you can go back here and read it for my #1 recommendation when planning your wedding.


So #1 is BUDGET, then once you decide how much you have to work with and what aspects are the most important to you #2 will be obvious.

My #2 was VENUE/DECOR [one in the same sometimes], we started this wedding dream with dreams that were far exceeding our budget.

we started with this place:

I didn't have the best experience with this place, it never could fit my budget no matter how hard I tried. Buttttt you can ask literally anyone else because EVERYONE seems to be having their wedding there. We booked it in July 2013 and by February 2014, we realized that no matter how hard we tried, how much organs we could sell or blood we could squeeze out of our body's to muster up some 20's, we could not see paying the amount they were telling us we owed.

So in February 2014, we decided to get married at our church and have the reception at this place

.....a local Antebellum home [10 miles from our church]. I told you all that to say, in all honesty, it doesn't matter where you get married. I would consider what is important to you and I figured out that having it somewhere that was close to my heart was important and Tripp and I started going to our church together and joined our first marriage small group there and it was near and dear to us [not to mention great price!]. I talked last time that you can make any place as beautiful as you would like and you really can, just consider how much you can spend, get thrifty and have some of your creative friends join in [literally what we did]! The antebellum home was sweet for me because it was in a town that I spent the majority of my life and it was all close to our oldest family members so no one was having to travel too far that didn't need to [good quality to consider too]!

You may think in the magic of just being engaged that you need the IT! place of the moment or that you need the most eccentric ware house or huge farm, but honestly think of somewhere that is accessible and sweet to you and your fiance.


And here it is!! [wedding venue pictures]

{Ceremony}

{Reception}

CEREMONY: Our Old Church Location, The Church Revived..Now at a different location and a different name - http://movechurch.tv/
RECEPTION: Reid Brake House in Warrior, Ala   http://www.thereidbrakehouse.com/
DECOR: Ivory Exchange Rentals [aka- our friends, Bret & Jillian] http://ivoryexchangerentals.com/



happy wedding planning!

wedding wednesdays.

As we approach our 1st year wedding anniversary in July [10 months on Tuesday 5/19], I wanted to do a weekly wedding blog. I did just about EVERYTHING wrong when planning mine and just about everything wrong that could happen, DID during the year that we were engaged. I want to be super transparent with y'all and let you learn from my mistakes (which will be ALOT, you shall see). Each week I will conquer a different topic starting with the most important...WEDDING BUDGET

You just got engaged! How exciting! Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is date, and maybe the wedding party, then what you want your dress to look like and the perfect venue....Well WOAH! STOP! The first thing you need to figure out is your BUDGET, I don't care if you are not personally having to pay a dime or if you are having to pay for the whole thing yourself. Budget is the most important and the one topic that I seem to just overlook at the beginning. Like I've said previously, if you could have a trial run at wedding planning, then I think we all should because I had no clue what to do! (clearly!)

You should know going into it if any family will be contributing to the wedding budget but I would suggest the FIRST thing you do will be to sit down with the Bride's family first and decide exactly how much they will be able to contribute. Get that number in writing and a signature (I'm not joking, this will help a little with hurt feelings later on), then do the same with the Groom's family. I suggest to do it with the Groom's because you need to know if you will be paying for the rehearsal dinner, groom's presents, etc..Get the number in writing with a signature for his side, as well.
The main reason I wouldn't meet with both families at the same time is to get rid of the competition aspect of families and money. It's just not necessary.

Once you have the total of those two numbers, look at it and decide if that will suffice for your dream (but realistic!) wedding. If not, you need to decide right then exactly how much you and the Groom will need to contribute and add it in. Figure out how you will be contributing (from your paycheck, yard sale, selling blood, etc! ha!...but for real). You will see that everything works off of the budget: The Venue, The Dress, The Food, even the Date!

You will then have a complete and EXACT (it needs to be exact) total budget. Before you start planning from there, I would sit down again with the Groom and decide what things matter the most in the planning process so you will know exactly where the most money should be spent.

I would suggest doing a list starting with the most important thing at the top [BE VERY DETAILED!] and have the list go down, till the bottom is the least important. (Again, of course we did not do this which resulted in catastrophe! #learnfromus)
If we would have done one, it would have look like this:

•  Decorations (You can make any place look amazing, if you have the money, tools and creative people)
• Guest List [We definitely wanted all the people we could get there, that was important to us.]
• Venue (Ceremony and Reception) [We had a big guest list so we needed a big space]
• Photography
• DJ
• Wedding Apparel (Bride's Dress, Groom's Tux, Etc)
• Cakes
• Rings (Groom's Band, Bride's Band)
• Wedding Gifts (Gifts for the Wedding Party, Parents, Grandparents, Special Guests)
• Favors
• Rehearsal Dinner
• Flowers
• Beauty (Bridal Hair/Makeup)
• Wedding Party [Bridesmaids/Groomsmen]
• Food 
• Sparklers (For leaving)

Things not listed, that you could add. Videographer (We didn't have one in the budget, biggest regret!), Alcohol (If that's important to you), Music (during the ceremony), Honeymoon (we were gifted one, thank goodness! so appreciative)

I definitely think this is what started our Wedding Planning Failure.

Next week, Venue/Decorations.

BUDGET.BUDGET.BUDGET.

what's up wednesday?!

Linking up with my favorite blogger Shay Shull  and her girlies for "what's up wednesday!?"

What We're Eating?!?!-

Well actually I got a $40 gift card for Hello Fresh which is a box subscriptions service for healthy food and they give you the ingredients, send you the recipe and you make it. It's been such a blast! I made a few and a few Tripp and I made together...some of the recipes were great and some were...interesting! 

 Citrus Shrimp with Potatoes, Peppers, Etc [This one has been our fav!]

 Lemon Roasted Tilapia

Wasabi-Glazed Steak [This was the interesting one]

 Pan-Seared Lemon Chicken 

It's a lot of fun for me because I'm not the best cook and this is pretty much dummy friendly. They are normally $69 for a box of three full meals but you can find $40 off coupons everywhere online so it makes it $29 for three which is not toooo shabby. 

What I'm Reminiscing About?!- 

Tripp and I have had some "just us" time here lately and I'm really trying to enjoy it and remember that it may not always be like this so cherish it! It's brings me back a lot to this time last year when we were trying to plan a wedding, deal with Micah's death, Tripp got let go at his job so find him a job, deal with people's opinions of every decision we were making and etc. I am so glad to be done with that, honestly it was such a hard time and I am so thankful that Tripp has a job HE TRULY LOVES and that our wedding is over. Our engagement was the hardest time in our relationship so far and I could not be happier that it is over and we are done with weddings. 

Us at my bridal shower last June....did we look as tired as we felt?!

What I'm Loving?!-

One of my favorite couple things to do is work on our house together. Of course that normally means Tripp working outside and I'm doing the inside but it is just fun to work on making something that is ours better. This week I worked on our guest bedroom...it isn't completed yet but from a previous post I showed the travel theme that inspired me so I did some things with that. Still lacking a few touches but when it is done, I will post pictures. While I was doing that Tripp worked his tushy off on our outside, he pressured washed the house, the sidewalk, the driveway and did some landscaping. We actually have a huge yard so it takes so much work and it's always impressive to me that he can make it look so great! 

Here is a sneak peak of the dresser that I painted black/gold-dipped..

 What I've Been Up To?!?- 

Well like I said, working on the house [pictures soon!], trying to figure out how to cook [no easy task!], oh and taking care of our newly arthritic dog [yes, toby that's you].

We had to take Toby to the Dog ER [yes that is a real thing] to only find out that he has a horrible back and was put on 4 different prescriptions.

 Tobes after shots....high as a kite, feelinnnn gooood! [said in a Ross Gellar voice]

Yes, he does have a heat pad on...shush! he is one of our children for now.

ALSO BIG NEWS! I am SELLING MY WEDDING DRESS! Yes, you heard right?! I mean when am I going to wear it again and I think it's beautiful so someone else may as well! [DETAILS- It is cream with lace overlay. Size 6. Maggie Sottero. Lace up corset back. Sweetheart neckline.] $500 OBO  make offer! [contact me at 205 329 4534 with any questions]

What I'm Working On?!-

Guest bedroom at our house and our patio is next! I have so many ideas and the color scheme I want is neon [tripp is not on board at all, but I shall sway him!] 

Inspiration for the patio:::

Love the color schemes. 

 Also as I've mentioned before that it is graduation time at work which is always hectic and I'm doing some other future career projects [stay tuned!]. 

What I'm Watching?!-

This one is always fun for me to answer! My dad is a tv junkie and so I was raised to know and love good television [not even ashamed]. Just as my brother and I used to talk non stop about sports, my dad and I are the same with tv. Right now I am into:

Reality Tv: Dancing with the stars [#teamschway], Botched [I can't look away!], Southern Charm [Cameran is my spirit animal!] 

Drama: Always catching up on Revenge, Nashville [I think everything else is on hiatus.] right now I am watching SUITS on amazon prime and LOVE LOVE LOVE [Harvey Spector is everything!]

Comedy: Younger [LOVE it!]

What I'm Listening To?!-

LANY- ILYSB

What I'm Wearing?!-

So I've been really wanting to change my style and beachy pieces have been just giving me life lately. I am tired of work out clothes everyday because I am uncomfortable with my body so I think the more I work on it, the more my style will come back and right now I am just living for these pieces...

 

What I'm Doing This Weekend?!-

Tripp has spring training for football so that has been deciding our nights for most of this week. I think saturday we have plans with the ever-so lovely Moore's [I adore them and their soon-to-be little miss [[can't wait]]] but other than that I hope to get in some barre and yoga classes and spend time with my booooo. 

 What I'm Looking Forward To Next Month?!-

Getting graduation over with for all of mom's seniors/K5 graduates this year [PS. I did find a dress! No pictures yet but I LOVE IT and it is very different from previous years!] and getting things started for the next school year, working on my side work project, Tripp finishing up this school year and getting good news from his job for the next year [prayers, fingers crossed, everything!] Hopefully selling my wedding dress! One month closer to the beach [July 18th!!] Celebrating our Mama's! Continuing my beach body goals!! 

What Else Is New?!- 

Not much this week! If you check out any of the things I posted about [Hello Fresh, any of the tv shows, etc] let me know what you thought about it/them! 

 And just like the end of my yoga classes, I leave you with namas'cray..err..I mean..NAMASTE 

  

 

    

 

 

 

 

It's been a long year..

Whew, I know it's been quite a few weeks since my first post but what I failed to mention in that one is that I was planning my wedding. Tripp and I set our wedding date in July 2013 so when my brother unexpectedly passed away just 15 short weeks before our date, we were forced to make some decisions that we had NO clue we would have to make. When planning a wedding one section that people forget to mention to you is, what if an unexpected death in your family happens? While that is super depressing, it is very real for us and caused a lot of hurdles in the last few months of our engagement.

I want to be as transparent as possible on this blog and that is what I plan to do. My goal is not to be super hateful or super depressing on here but to talk about some things I've experienced or am experiencing in hopes that someone who hasn't been able to relate to anything before may find this relatable. My main passion in life is to help the lonely, no not the lonely for a soulmate kind of way but someone who feels that their situation is completely different from anyone else and who goes to bed at night feeling completely alone in what they are going through. I've had that feeling too many times and I never want to know of someone having that feeling when I could help in some way. So I hope that this blog brings about some kind of comfort for someone.

That being said, like I stated previously Tripp and I did not have unexpected death in our wedding plans, for financial sake or emotional sake. Our engagement was one of the toughest things I have ever been through, it had extreme highs and extreme lows and I am grateful for all of the persevering that we have gone through because the Bible says that God blesses those that persevere. It was not easy and we did not always handle it right, simply because we had no idea how to handle it, nor did we have it in our plan. In the end, we did what we needed to do, what we had to do and what we felt led to do, no matter how hard it was.

Tripp and I do not come from money and we make no bones about it that we are simple people that were both brought up on hard times. When we got engaged, we were overly excited and exceeded our budget fast. We were quickly brought back down to earth in January and tried to make do with what we had and also had some help from our parents which we greatly appreciated but like I said, we do not come from wealthy backgrounds which I feel is the normal thing for most now. We both have student loans and paid for our own bills at the time we got engaged. We did not have some grand savings to pull from and literally started saving aluminum cans from the second we got engaged. We lost a lot of wedding weight doing the ramen noodle diet and learned that life could still be complete even if we got rid of cable. We both made a lot of sacrifices for the wedding and trimmed down our idea of what a grand wedding would be. (All that being said, I was OVERJOYED with our wedding in the end and it perfectly fit the couple that we are!) When we first got engaged, we had a huge venue picked out, a huge guest list and a huge wedding party. Well life happened which brought our idea of the perfect venue down, as well as, eventually our wedding party became smaller. Some of you may be wondering what this has to do with me dealing with my brother dying but it was so close to our wedding and financially, my parents did not have a child's funeral and a child's wedding all saved up to happen in the same year just weeks apart. Around 7 weeks after Micah passed, Tripp lost his job. So with all that had just happened, we had no choice but to continue to trim on the wedding that was in just a few weeks and while the wedding party did not understand at all what we were going through financially or emotionally, the show went on. Everyone said that we would find out who our true friends are during these hard times and we truly, truly did and I am so thankful.

During all of the financial hardships we were being hit with I was still trying to comprehend having the worst day of my life and the best day of my life so close together in the same year. It was hard and I wanted and tried to talk Tripp into eloping more than a handful of times. He did not want me to have any regrets, which now I am so appreciative because our wedding was exactly what I needed. It was hard to have family pictures and it was hard to see him have pictures with his siblings. As we were on stage during the ceremony, at one point I did glance at the groomsmen and think of how in a perfect world Bub would be standing up there with them. Micah loved Tripp, honestly Micah wasn't the type of brother that would be the big bad wolf. He would've said, "Screw everyone that has not tried to make this time easier on y'all, including myself."

After all the hateful words, hard financial times, people not understanding, sadness and anger thrown our in our direction...our wedding and honeymoon was so perfect for us. It was really a day where I didn't care how ugly anyone acted to me, if the flowers were the wrong color or if my cake was falling apart from the humidity, Tripp is mine and I am his.

A few wedding pictures: