Wedding Planning Update

April 20, 2018 in Personal

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WeddingWire. The opinions and text are all mine.

Well, it's been a good 5 months since I first posted about my wedding planning progress! A LOT has happened since then... some of it was "spur of the moment decisions" that we originally didn't put too much thought into, like a hotel block for out-of-town guests or a wedding videographer.

Deciding on a hotel block was a process, and I definitely used WeddingWire's forums to see how to go about it. It seems like so many people prefer staying somewhere they have points for, but in the end it seemed like a nice gesture for our guests! Finding an actual hotel was so easy thanks to WeddingWire's Hotel Blocks feature! The search engine made it super easy to find and compare available hotels in the area, narrowing it down to searches by number of rooms, hotel star ratings, pricing, and proximity to our venue. We made the decision within a couple of days!

I've also been utilizing WeddingWire's checklist to keep us on track:

It looks like I'm overdue on some suggested dates but ahead on others! I definitely use this as a guideline for the bigger things like booking a honeymoon (which we JUST did - a European cruise)!!

Since my last update, we've also booked a DJ, sent out Save the Dates, hired a wonderful officiant, and picked out bridesmaids dresses! I actually designed our Save the Dates as a postcard in Photoshop and had a local company print them:

Image is, again, by the wonderfully talented Maddie Tober

Everyone is telling me to enjoy the process, but I honestly don't like a single thing about it. It's easy because we know exactly what we like and don't like, but it definitely feels like we're just chugging through and checking things off a list. Thank you again to WeddingWire for keeping me sane!

Wedding Planning Progress

November 17, 2017 in Personal

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WeddingWire. The opinions and text are all mine.

So, it's been a little over 2 months since Brian and I got engaged, and I've planned out... a lot! I've already booked the photographer, venue, caterer, hair & makeup, photobooth, month-of-coordinator, took engagement photos, designed Save the Dates, and am now currently in the midst of wedding dress shopping. WHEW.

I think I do things so fast because I get anxiety with UNKNOWNS. And when I get anxious, I research research research until I have a better understanding. Where would the wedding be? What day? What vendors do I need? What parts of a wedding am I forgetting (or do I not even know about)? These questions overwhelmed me until I could make a spreadsheet of almost every little detail. It took me 2 weeks to accomplish and then I felt sooo much better.

A lot of my research was just googling! And a common website that I kept coming across was WeddingWire! It helped me a lot in my research because every time I searched a question such as, "How far in advance should I send Save the Dates?" their forum popped up with real brides' answers. I referred a lot to their forums for many of the questions that I had!

I also used their website to research the prices of venues and vendors because I just had NO idea what price range they should even fall in. AND I learned about wedding dress styles from them! Now I know all about A-line, trumpets, mermaids, and sheaths (I'm not a very fashionable girl ha). Like I said before, not knowing much about a subject gives me anxiety, so the more information the better.

So there's my update! I've slowed down on planning for now, but I know I'll have a lot more questions. Thank you to all the past brides, bride-to-be's, and everyone who has gone through wedding planning that have helped me out!

Big Bend, Marfa, and the Proposal

September 11, 2017 in Travel, Personal

Big Bend National Park

This past Labor Day weekend, Brian planned a trip to Big Bend National Park and Marfa for us. Originally, we were supposed to spend the night in Austin and then explore Big Bend with Huong and Andrew. But Marfa was so close (2 hours away), and I'd always wanted to see the Prada Marfa installation, so I asked if we could go! He said, "We'll see."

When Labor Day weekend came, Brian said that we would go to Marfa. YAY! Except I was a little concerned and almost wanted to cancel the road trip because there was a gas shortage scare throughout Texas. We were convinced people were overhyping it, but it was real... throughout the main cities, there was no gas to be found. We had to constantly use the GasBuddy app to see where we could fill up. It was definitely a concern, and we even bought a gas canister as an emergency!

We left Austin at 4 in the morning since Big Bend was almost a 7 hour drive away. It was amazing seeing the landscape turn into hills and then mountains. I've NEVER seen mountains in Texas before! I was so excited. When we got into Big Bend, we immediately did the Lost Mine hike. The views were amazing. I definitely appreciate Texas a lot more now.

Marfa

That night, we stayed in Marfa so that we could explore the city next morning. The first thing Brian wanted to see was Prada Marfa at sunrise. Of course I was down! So we woke up at 6AM the next day to make the 30 minute drive to the art installation.

When we got there, I took a couple of photos of Huong and Andrew in front of Prada Marfa. And naturally, I asked them to take photos of Brian and me too. Brian and I walked up to the storefont, and we posed for a photo, but then he turned to me, and said, "Hey..."

HE CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD!! We were just supposed to take a photo! Everything was happening so naturally, so this moment was entirely unexpected. He asked me to marry him, and the rest is history!