SO MANY PLANTS, SO LITTLE SPACE

You know how they say your house turns into a tornado of a mess before your wedding? Well, I recently found out the same is true for the weeks (ok, the month!) following it. While we rented a lot of the items for our big day from Kim's company, we also bought a boat load of vases, candles, vintage accents and plants on our own - all of which are still in boxes scattered throughout our place.

What to do? A garage sale or 100 Layer Cake's Marketplace seems like a perfect way to sell the vases, etc. but I want to utilize the air plants and succulents in our house as much as possible. We seriously have tons. Those pretty little suckers live forever and I'm not willing to throw them out.

I have no more room on the surfaces of our home so am on a serious hunt for hanging vases and orbs to display them in. I came across these beauties (below) on Etsy last week from HRUSKAA. Once the wedding funds replenish themselves, I will definitely be picking up a few of these to hang around the house and keep at least a few of these little wedding momentos alive.

Have you seen any cute ideas for displaying air plants or succulents around the house? Please do share!

WEDDING WEDNESDAY // ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS

In February, Kim and I took a trip up to Point Dume in Malibu for our engagement pictures. Our wonderful photographers, Kimberly and Andre, owners of We Call This Love Photography, were the nicest and oh-so-talented.  

I'll be honest - I was a little nervous. I hadn't had professional photos taken since high school and had no idea what to expect. But you know what? We walked away from our photos so excited and had such a good time doing them. Kimberly and Andre made us feel so comfortable and we are so excited to have them along side us on our big day this August. Even if you don't think you want engagement pictures, I highly recommend them because they get you comfortable both in front of the camera and with your photographers.

Below are some of my favorites from the day. You can see more on the We Call This Love Blog. Thanks again guys, we love them and feel so lucky to have had this amazing day captured through your lens.

Oh yeah, Otis was there too!

WEDDING WEDNESDAY // PRETTY ME PINTEREST

A few weeks ago for Wedding Wednesday I shared with you 6 tips to using Pinterest as a bride-to-be. This week, I'll keep it simple and share with you some of the most beautiful things I've seen on Pinterest lately - ones that definitely have inspired my wedding. Remember when I said stop looking at Pinterest for new ideas? Yeah, I need to practice what I preach.


Pretty me Pinterest Photo sources (of the gorgeous pics I love from Pinterest):
1 // Green Wedding Shoes // Studio Castillero Photography
2 // Bleubird Vintage // Brooke Schwab Photography
3 // Ruffled Blog // Elisa B Photography
4 // Original Source Unknown (email me if you know)
5 // Always With Butter
6 // Original Source Unknown (email me if you know)
7 // At Home In Love // Paige Newton Photography
8 // 100 Layer Cake // Jose Villa Photography

Follow me on Pinterest! 

WEDDING WEDNESDAY // PINTEREST TIPS FOR BRIDES-TO-BE

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Pinterest can be both your best friend and your worst enemy when it comes to wedding planning (in my humble opinion). There are SO many ideas out there - GREAT ideas - just remember that you can't use all of them! And that's the tricky part my friend. I've decided to share with you some tips on how I recommend using Pinterest throughout the exciting and oftentimes daunting process of wedding planning.

1 // At the beginning of the process begin following wedding bloggers that inspire you and go crazy with your pinning - decide what looks you do and definitely don't like. You will begin to see a pattern. My favorite wedding blogs are Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes, Wedding Chicks, 100 Layer Cake and Once Wed.

2 // Pick a theme. And stick to it. This was hard for me - it really wasn't until I started talking to my coordinator, Nicole, that I realized how all over the place my ideas were. I wanted a modern, rustic, vintage, sparkly, neutral, ranchey wedding. HA. What a mess that would have been. I started my own private Pintrest board (you can do that now!) and started pinning all the things I knew I wanted, along with pictures of my venue to see what the natural colors were and how the things I was choosing would go with it.

Once you see what your choices look like next to each other you will see if they go together...or not. Add and subtract from there.

3 // You will see so many unique ideas on Pintrest - many that are DIY. For DIY projects, go out and buy the materials and try making it yourself before committing. Unfortunately many of the projects you will see on blogs or websites do not look as great when you do it yourself. There were a few things, like DIY garland that I thought I wanted but once I tried making it it looked like crap and super cheap. Don't wait until the last minute to do these projects. You may be very bummed out by the outcome.

4 // Start a private Pinterest board with your wedding coordinator. This has been fun. Both Nicole and I post great ideas when we see them and we can comment back and forth about our ideas - with nobody else seeing our ideas at work!

5 // For bloggers, if you are doing DIY projects for your wedding, wait until after to share online. You don't want your guests to see all the fun you have up your sleeves, and hello, blog and Pinterest content for later! Be sure to take "how-to" pictures of the project while you are doing it so you have them for later. And of course, lots of pictures of your projects at the wedding itself to see your DIY in action.

6 // Once you are a few months out, back off of Pinterest. It's likely that you have already finalized your plans and you don't want to be overwhelmed last minute by a rush of new ideas. I'm sure whatever you have is perfect. I've found myself getting sick of some of the ideas I had from the beginning and wanting something new just do have something else to focus on and worry about. Don't do that to yourself.

What are your Pinterest wedding tips? Please do share!

Follow along with my wedding Pinterest board here. 

WEDDING WEDNESDAYS // THE GREEN RIBBON PARTY PLANNING CO.

One of the first things we did after booking our venue was search for a coordinator. Most of our wedding is going to be DIY and the venue provides nothing but the actual space. That means we need to have every last detail planned out - who sets up the tables, when should the cake go out, where do you find event servers, etc...

So many of our friends and family have offered to help on the day of, which we're so thankful for and will absolutely be accepting, but I knew we'd need someone to be in charge of the day and make sure the execution stays true to our vision - conduct the day if you will! I started my search on The Knot and Craigslist and the people that I kept finding were really a dime a dozen - had claimed to do event coordinating but had no references, pictures, ideas...you get the picture.

Then one day I came across this post on Style Me Pretty and knew that I needed the help from whoever was behind this beautiful wedding.

Enter Nicole from The Green Ribbon Party Planning Co.

After talking to her about our vision, budget and ideas I knew we had met our match. We immediately booked her and she has been so so helpful ever since. Spending hours with me on Facetime discussing every little detail, giving us so many great ideas and also (thankfully!) telling me when my ideas are not going to work.

We haven't even had our wedding yet, but I can already tell that having a professional coordinator or planner (especially when your venue doesn't provide an on-site one) is a must.

Stop by Nicole's website to see the rest of her gorgeous events or email her about her services at nicole@greenribbonparties.com.

*Photography by Katie Vowels for Annie McElwain Photography

163 days to go! Oh my.

WEDDING WEDNESDAYS // WE CALL THIS LOVE

Three weeks to go until our engagement pictures! We had plans to take them a few weeks ago but the weather forecast did not agree. We are so thrilled to have Kimberly Genevieve doing our engagement and wedding pictures. Her new wedding website, We Call This Love, is now live and bursting with gorgeous pictures of couples and their wedding days.

We are heading up to Malibu for all of the pictures. I'm still a little nervous about what to wear for engagement pictures, how to stand, etc. but I'm sure the perfect scenery and Kimberly's amazing talent will help us look a little better and less awkward than our normal pictures, haha.

Either way, can't wait to have her and her boyfriend, Andre, be a part of our big day. Check out all of their gorgeous wedding and engagement photography here.

This week marks six months to go til the big day, eeee!

BHLDN SPRING COLLECTION // WEDDING WEDNESDAYS

 

If you love Anthropologie for every day clothes and home goods, you will love BHLDN. For all you brides-to-be, be sure to check out their new spring collection - I was pretty pumped to see that it's already out, and scared at the same time because it means it's finally MY wedding season! I decided to have a long engagement so I can prepare for the wedding but it is certainly still sneaking up on me. Less than seven months to go! Oh my! So much left to do!

The best piece of advice that I can give at this point (about half way into being engaged) is WAIT to a while make the big decisions. Everyone told me to just wait a while and see where the vision went. I didn't listen....meaning I'm now the owner for three wedding dresses and a lot of decor that I will now need to sell. Oops. I finally found my dress (this better be the one!) on BHLDN earlier this year on sale and am now selling the one that I thought was "the one", a J.Crew Streamer Gown, on 100 Layer Cake here. If you know anyone looking for a size 8 wedding dress, be sure to let them know :)

What is the best words of wisdom you can give to brides-to-be? I'll be sure to share!

Links to all these BHLDN beauties:

1 // isadora gown 2 // the new-fashioned wedding (so excited to get my paws on this book!) 3 // streamline clutch 4 // wingspan dress 5 // tulle blossom topper 6 // agata swing dress 7 // over the moon balloon (maybe my favorite yet by Geronimo!) 8 // happy wedding card by sugar paper

TEEPEE INSPIRED WEDDING

Maybe it's the teepee, maybe it's the bride's flower crown, maybe it's the hand-picked decor, maybe it's the gorgeous photos, orrrrr maybe its because its the same venue that I'll be getting married at, but this wedding is just awesome.

Leo Carrillo Ranch is Carlsbad, CA has so much historic spanish charm on its own, but this couple knew how to make it come alive. I'm truly smitten by this wedding and just might have to borrow a few of their ideas! Can't you just feel the love?

Special thanks to Tyler Branch Photography for letting me share these gorgeous photos!

WEDDINGS // MINTED HALF OFF

I know it isn't quite Wednesday yet but I had to share this exciting deal ASAP! Gilt is offering 50% off on Minted.com goods while supplies last. They have gorgeous stationery by awesome designers - now at amazing prices! I see this as a great way to save on wedding stationery. For the same price you would pay for so-so quality invites online - you have the opportunity to have great quality for that same price point.

The offer is also valid for holiday cards and other announcements for those of you not in the wedding market.

Now for a shameless plug for my friend Allison at The Social Type - be sure to check out ALL her awesome designs on Minted. Her holiday cards are to die for!

See my other wedding-related posts here.

My favorite designs:
1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

WEDDING SUCCULENTS

Sources 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6

There is a very weak part of my heart for succulents. Big, small, tall, short... I don't discriminate. Whenever I see them I have to buy them. I'm loving the way they are being incorporated into so many weddings these days and can't wait to mix them in with flowers at my own. There are so many unique ways to use them - centerpieces, giveaways, design elements and in your bouquets.

Read more of my Wedding Wednesdays posts.

ANEMONES

Wedding plans are slowly moving forward. Sorry I haven't had the chance to do a lot of updates on here! My latest decision is to take on the flowers on my own (except for probably the bouquets). It's fun and daunting at the same time. I'm having fun learning what I do and don't like and reading up as much as possible about arranging.

My latest flower obsession is the anemone flower. I think it is so gorgeous with it's unexpected black eye in the middle. The colors it comes in are beautiful! I just can't get enough. What do you think? Did you do any of your own flower arrangements? Any tips? The adventure continues...

Sources: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

FANTASY WEDDING - BHLDN

BHLDN, or "Beholden", Anthropologie's wedding line is always full of lovely little gems. From bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses to cake cutters and dessert plates, it really does have everything you could possibly need for a gorgeous wedding. They tend to be a bit pricey in my personal opinion, but I find it to be a great source of inspiration and ideas!

These are just a few of my favorite picks from their new line. Loving all the coral, as always...

WEDDING ADVICE?

Today I'm just going to ask you, my readers and friends, for some basic wedding advice. What was one piece of advice that you heard that is just too good to share // or something little that someone told you before your big day that meant a lot to you? I say this almost weekly, but there is just way too much info out there that I've gone into shut-down mode and I still have almost a year...

Currently, I'm personally contemplating a lot on music, finding a style to stick with (without going overboard like I tend to do), finding a dress that seems to fit my personality and figuring out how to build a guest list at a place where the max capacity is less than my initial brainstorming list.

Comment below with your personal advice // things you were told // things you wish you would have known // etc. I'll be sure to share the feedback in the future.

Art by Wayne Pate. it's called "Contemplating Hockney" and seemed appropriate.

BACKYARD SAN DIEGO WEDDING

Wedding Chicks is quickly becoming one of my favorite websites. A few weeks ago they featured this gorgeous wedding photographed by Jackie Wonders. The details put into this day are apparent and I love the mix of soft and romantic with a little bit of edge. Never have I ever seen such a cute photo booth set up- might be one of my favorite weddings yet! Hop on over to Wedding Chicks to see the rest of the snapshots and the story around the big day.

Ps. check out those mustache stamps :-)

PRETTY ME PINTEREST // WEDDING EDITION

Let me tell you, Pinterest can be a verrrry overwhelming place for a bride-to-be. So can blogs, wedding magazines, bridal shows, friends, other weddings, ahhhh the list goes on! For this week's Wedding Wednesday series, I've decided to pick and choose some of my favorites to share with you.

• Streamer Dessert Table
• Gorgeous Gowns Galore
• Hearts Cake
• Personalized Stir Flags
• Ruffled Goodness Dress
• XOXO Dessert Table

See more Pretty me Pinterest posts here.

See more Wedding Wednesday posts here.