10 Things To Do Before Your Wedding

I found this great post via Pinterest from Shefinds.com about 10 things to do the night before your wedding. Love this! 

Do a face mask

You want your skin to flawless, clean, and smooth on your wedding day. Your skin needs to be in prime condition for makeup application. I always suggest going to the spa 10 days prior to your wedding and booking a “just in case” dermatologist appointment 3 days prior, but doing a mild... repeat, mild mask will do your skin some good the night before!

Avoid using anything with a peel or tingle as it could irritate and redden your skin. Stick to shea butter, aloe, and cucumber. Nothing harmful can come from those (also make sure whatever you put on your face, youre not allergic too!)

Use an under-eye cream

Help reduce puffiness, lines, and dark circles with a night time under eye cream. My personal favorite is Kiehls avacado cream.  If you have sensitive skin, have no fear! Get a gel eye mask that you can store in the freezer over night. In the morning put the mask on your face while you eat your breakfast and enjoy your coffee/tea. You’ll look a little silly, but it’ll make for some great day of photos. 

Don’t drink

Shefinds says don’t drink. I say it’s ok to have a drink or 2 at your rehearsal dinner (obvi) and one small night cap before midnight is ok. One I say. One. I know personally when I drink my face gets a little puffy if i’m dehydrated, so if you're going to have a glass or 2, make sure to drink plenty of water. 

Set a bed time

I get it. This is your wedding day. It’s like every birthday, Christmas, graduation, and tooth-fairy visit combined, but you should still try to get as much rest as possible.  Since you’ll be getting up pretty early to begin hair/makeup, getting dressed, etc. you’ll want to try to get a good nights sleep. Midnight is pretty good, but anything after 1:00 AM you're probably pushing it. Don’t take any sleep aids of any kind- you don’t want to be groggy.  If you really can’t fall asleep just settle in bed, alone, and quietly watch some tv until you doze off. 


Don’t use social media (keep this time private)

I love this rule and completely agree with it so am just going to post shefinds.com verbatim...

“The most exciting part of a wedding is the big reveal when the bride finally enters the church and walks down the aisle. You want to hear everyone oohing and aahing, so don’t give them a pre-game show with constant status updates. Fall off the radar for a day or so in order for everyone to truly appreciate you as a bride.”- Shefinds.com

No texting with the husband

Kiss your sweetie goodnight at the rehearsal dinner and enjoy the excitement and anticipating for when you walk down the aisle. Constantly texting or calling doesn’t leave a whole lot of mystery for your special day. Allow your maid of honor and best man to do any communicating that needs to happen, but try to get the details ironed out ahead of time. 

Write a letter to your husband

Love. I think the written word is a true art form and one that is terribly underused. Writing letters is not only romantic, it takes courage to pen your truest feelings and deliver them to anyone. I love seeing Vimeos where a bride and groom write each other letters about how excited they are to marry that person- it gets them and me every time. 

Have one final meeting with your wedding planner

My thought is that this should happen at your rehearsal.  Your planner will be with you when yourself, the groom, parent,s in laws, and the entire wedding party are rehearsing lining up, walking down the aisle, photo bombing each other and so forth. Before you head off to the rehearsal dinner take the time to review everything prior to you leaving. 

Check in for your honeymoon flight

Most airlines allow you to check-in online 24 hours prior to your flight. Personally, I think you should give yourself 48 hours until you depart for your honeymoon. You are going to be tired, you're not going to want to rush, and just like your wedding, it’s so much better to travel when you're refreshed and relaxed...and not hungover By all means, go on a honeymoon the day after your wedding, but if you're holding off a day or two skip down to tip #10.

Watch a goofy, wedding romantic comedy with your girls

Okay, okay. I know I said have a reasonable bed time, but it's totally a great way to wind the night down with your girls and line up some wedding-related chick flicks like Father of the Bride or My Big Fat Greek Wedding and get into the wedding zone.

Some other suggestions

The Proposal

Sex and the City

Sweet Home Alabama

You’ve Got Mail

When Harry Met Sally

Sources: SheFinds Delta MyWedding Kiehls  Anne Almasy Clean Logic Favim

And We're Back!

It has been a busy couple of months!  Some great changes have come my way and now that I’m settled can get back to posting on the regular.  Even though we’re small, I’d just like to say thanks for still following and being patient. SO what’s up?

I’ve been really inspired by reading, hearing about, and seeing weddings that friends are planning, participating in, or have been to.   One of the things I’ve been talking to brides-to-be about is how to manage the stress of it all. Because lets face it, as wonderful and fun planning your wedding is, you are going to become stressed at some point.  You can be as cool as a cucumber, but I promise you at some point you’re going to get flustered, overwhelmed, bombarded, etc. but here’s the best part… IT’S OKAY!

It’s okay to feel all of those things, in fact it’s normal. I’d be a little concerned if you didn’t feel that way, ever. This is one of the biggest days of your life.  I like to think that getting stressed, just means your care.  See? It’s a good thing. The way you manage your stress though it more important than the stress itself. Here are some things to consider to reduce your stress (when it comes).

Be prepared

Before any planning begins organize yourself. There’s a lot to do so make sure you are in the right state of mind to begin planning. If you have a lot going on at work or in another area of your life, it’s not imperative to plan your entire wedding in one week.  You’ll have a much easier time if you’re willing, ready, and prepared to do so.  Think of it this way- you are the Project Manager for this event. You will have help along the way, but if you’re organized everything will go a lot smoother and things will be completed on time.

Know what you want

You are going to get a lot of opinions given to you from multiple people.  Many times, these opinions are just to get the creative juices going or are given because someone wants you to weigh all options before committing to a thought. As great as this is, I’m sure you have an idea of what your ideal wedding day is and what it’ll look like. Everything from the type of ceremony, general feel, food, etc. Get together with your fiance and create an overall picture of what your wedding is going to be and how it’s going to look. That way when the opinions start to filter in you’ll have an easier time with #3.

Thank you, but no thank you

This is often a hard thing to say (especially to in-laws).  Because you participated in the exercise of #2 you’ll have an easier time saying “thanks, but no thanks”.  I wouldn’t use those words exactly, but some responses could be:

• Thanks! But we’ve decided to...
•  I really appreciate your thought, but we’ve already committed to...
• That’s a cool idea, but we’re happy going with...

Some people might be more adamant than others when saying “but really you should…”.  And those people sometimes just need to hear you say “no” more frequently.  The more passive you are, the more opinions you’re going to get. So this could actually be a great exercise for you to be more assertive J  

Take a minute

Whether it’s a vendor offering more options, a family member asking a laundry-list of questions or a BM/MOH planning all of your fun pre-wedding fetes- take a minute. You’re not required to respond to everyone all day long. Some days are going to be more packed than others, but it doesn’t mean you’re on call 24/7.  Take a minute. Take a breather. Take a break. Prioritize the priorities.  In my opinion, vendors come first. These folks are responsible for getting things done on your day. Pay attention to them- being a responsive customer makes their job easier and more enjoyable to do for you. 

Come back later

At some point you might want to throw your hands up in the air and say HALT!  I don’t recommend actually shouting at anyone, but certainly excuse yourself.  I know it took my sister a really long time to figure out her napkin color and it was something that began to frustrate her. Don’t try to push through stress- that just makes a situation even more stressful.  Take a minute, go outside, clear your head, walk around bare foot- do something to ease your mind for a few minutes and come back. No one is going to say you're the worst person in the world for letting off some steam so that you can think more clearly and articulate what you want.

No matter what, it’s going to be a great day and will be well worth the work and the stress (just the little bit that will come). 

Now, go forth and plan!

Photo Source: Roses

Save the Date Style!

 
Gotta love the creativity!  The whole Pinterest, DIY, craft wedding is the latest trend we're seeing with wedding planning.  Personally, I love it. I think it's nice to be a little outside of the box and really have your special day reflect who you both are as a couple.

This all begins with the Save the Date or Engagement photo session.  You are officially setting the tone- whether you think so or not. BuzzFeed posted a great article yesterday on some clever ways to begin the adventure for your guests.

It doesn't have to be a magnet, coaster, or card reminder anymore. Your Save the Date can be whatever inspires your day. The balloon one is probably my favorite and the cost-conscious artist in me loves the DIY watercolor and stamp as well.

Cheers!

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to everyone- and the sun is out!!!! <3

Photo Source: Green Wedding Shoes, Pinterest

100 Questions

Getting to know someone when you first start to date is uber exciting.  It's kind of like opening little gifts as the relationship grows.  Don't stop asking questions!  If you've found your someone and you both are on the way to saying I DO, it's important to continue that relationship deep-sea fishing. You know, asking the hard stuff.  The stuff that makes your insides turn and your toes cringe, but the stuff that you both know is important when figuring out how to spend the rest of your lives together.

Enter The Hard Questions: 100 Questions to Ask Before Saying "I Do" by Susan Piver. 

The books topics are the fundamentals:

1. Home
2. Money
3. Work
4. Sex
5. Health & Food
6. Family
7. Children
8. Community & Friends
9. Spiritual Life

You don't need to answer them all or all in one night, but make a fun evening out of it. Order some pizza, get some ice cream, some craft beer and/or wine and sit and have a good conversation. Heck! Even if you are married, go ahead and get the book!  Have fun!

Hometown Shout Out

It's no surprise GreenWeddingShoes is my favorite go-to bride blog.  But I love it that much more when I see my hometown of Kensington, Maryland featured.  I always love to hear visitors talk about  the "Wizard of Oz" or "Disney Castle" when they come around the beltway. 

This spectacular architectural achievement is actually a place of worship.  Photographs are not allowed to be taken inside, but the essence of the day is captured just the same. Whoop whoop!

Quote

Sometimes I get a thought and I just like to share :) My stylish friend, who has her own blog, THE STYLE PUNDIT (check it out!) were having a conversation about our style and how it compares to the where we live. We're both transplants to Atlanta and are acutely aware that our personal fashion sense doesn't really match the typical female style.  It's not good or bad, just different.

One of the things that peaked our interest more than whether or not we "fit in" was what it meant to be "feminine looking"- by this we strictly were talking about our clothes.  When it comes to what people wear out in bars (not everyone), we wondered if "dressing feminine" meant tight, body-con dresses, that left little to the imagination with your cheeks and peaks barely covered.  We don't think so.

We agreed that we don't think dressing feminine means showing off all of your assets with 4.5" heels. But we wonder what men think. And this wonderful thought came out....

Being well-dressed doesn't mean having all of the latest designer fashions and emptying your pockets to keep up.  It means dressing tastefully with confidence.  When your confident, you're this beaming, glowing, enigma that captures the room.  And you become very hard to ignore.   

Personally, if a man wants someone who's going to show everything, I'm not their gal.  It's a balance and one that I keep. If i show more leg, you'll see less of my top and vice-verse. I don't know if I fit in to what you would call typical Atlanta-fashion, but I think I have a unique style all my own that is nice and polished. 

Colorscope Pt. 4

Finale- that was fun :)

To be honest I haven't read these- I think that would be cheating. Instead select your favorite colors and wait to read the descriptions until after. 

Colorscope Pt. 3

It's been gloomy all week- I think I  might see a small sliver of light trying to press itself through the clouds. No bother, time for color!

CLICK HERE for the Paper-Source planner that has all of this fun info in it! 

Colorscope Pt. 2

Colorscope Pt.1: Paper-Source

Like Crate&Barrel, Paper-Source is a magical place. If you haven't done so already, I highly suggest purchasing one of their annual planners.  Why? Well for obvious reasons such as a place to jot down important dates and memos, but also for the goodness in the back of the notebook.  Paper-Source has created a 4-page colorscape that I'm obsessing over  that will be posted in it's entirety over the next four days. 

No doubt one of the things you'll spend some time thinking about is your color-scheme.  Some people go by the season, others go by what their favorite has been since childhood... Do you know what your color(s) say about you?

Paper-Source does :)

Anniversary Info

It exists. Yes, there are suggested items that you are supposed to give/receive for specific anniversaries. I'd love to find out who created this- it's been around for a while.  Here are your milestone gifts from 1 year to 75.

Turn to the Tea

Many of my friends know of my obsession with Crate & Barrel.  It’s like what FAO Schwartz used to do for me as a kid.  Instead of oohing over rainbow m&ms and plush stuffed animals of every shape and size, I experience a type of giddy euphoria when I walk through the glass doors and see cutlery, pillows, vases, shelves, and napkin holders. What happened?

Making our nest, cave, dwelling, etc. desirable and to our liking is fun. It really is. POINT RENEE- well this year Crate&Barrel is celebrating their 50th anniversary by highlighting their famous Arzberg  teapot. They've asked 12 artists to create one of a kind, limited addition teapots. They’re adorable and of course I'm collecting them, duh.  It also makes the months pass quickly because I count the days down as to when I can purchase my next one.  If I miss one, even one, it’s all for not. So I am the crazy who waits up at 12:00 AM to purchase my pot.

I don’t know about you, but if you're stuck in a rut on a theme, colors, feeling, season, whatever- turn to the tea. Enjoy!

 

We [ ] With Our Eyes

The way something looks is the reason we choose it, the way we buy it, the way we try it, and eat it. It's also how we appreciate things.  Someone could bring over the greatest tasting black truffle, cheese ravioli you’ve ever had in your life, but if it was shoved onto a paper plate without care you might judge it poorly before it reaches your tongue.You also could’ve been given the latest and greatest apple product, but if they just handed it to you without a box or a bow- well it takes some of the mystery and magic out of receiving a gift.

Presentation counts. It doesn’t have to be glamorous- in fact, it can be quite simple and understated, but the effort one makes into the presentation of anything always captures the attention and admiration of its viewers.  What are you inspired by? I can find lots from these fine packages- enjoy!

Photo Source: BuzzFeed