link love

This blog is a great reference for brides. I especially loved the new post about resolutions for the newly engaged. I am contemplating my resolutions today. It has been so busy I haven't even had a chance to think about what I want from the next year...and it's a pretty big year ahead of me. So I am thinking a post of resolutions will be good for me too. More to come later.

Art above is mixed media by Nigel Conway.

grey likes weddings- and i like grey

I absolutely love this blog. I heard about it from Style Me Pretty and I have been following it ever since. She has to cutest style and so many great ideas on handmade gifts and favors for weddings. I like her ideas because you can use them for more then just your wedding! I am going to use a couple of them next Christmas season.

Just to give you a taste...

Crafty handmade snow globes



Thrift store sweater wine wraps



And last but not least this adorable coffee huggie for the caffeine addict {we all know at least one!}

ann taylor

So after my great disappointment with the J. Crew pearl earrings I have found some new babbles that are just as eye catching and promising. Only problem is I can't get the pictures for you guys BUT just believe me- go here and I promise the link will not disappoint you. Ann Taylor is a step above Forever 21 {sorry Forever 21 just doesn't say bride to me} but it's not so hard on the wallet as some chic stores can be. And there is always their outlet store Ann Taylor Loft or clearance sales. Right now Ann Taylor has the sweetest collection of necklaces and earrings that are perfect for simple elegance for wedding or honeymoon. Soft colors that are easy to imagine wearing with plenty of things you already own.

trousseau ideas

For the honeymoon I want some sexy new pieces of lingerie. I am in love with SandMaiden on Etsy! She has a beautiful and chic style. It doesn't feel cheap or generic and with most of it under $50 bucks it's a honeymoon steal! I personally am going to stock up for next September! Check her out and let me know what you think! With Valentines Day coming up it's the perfect excuse to spend a little cash without any guilt. Another added benefit- the motivation to get back into shape after all the holiday food! {guilty, guily, guilty and I have a bridesmaid dress to fit into in five days!}

white wedding treats

From Martha to Me to You!

not so chic wedding day earrings...

These pearl beauties were my big Christmas present this year. My mom found them while online shopping weeks ago and emailed me a picture- where I instantly feel completely in love with them. So like a good mother of the bride- she ordered them for Christmas. She wasn't even going to open the package, she was just going to wrap them up but then decided she had to take a little peek at them so she opened the box and to her {and my} dismay found the largest pair of pearl earrings ever know to man.

They aren't tiny or dainty or elegant. They are huge and gaudy and we were so sad...

j. crew

On with the trousseau idea. I want an elegant feeling with a little bit of a bohemian vibe. These pieces say I am a woman and not a little girl anymore. Very grown up without feeling stuffy. And ballet flats and gold hoops never go out of style and always make you feel like Audrey Hepburn!

christmas

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas before I disapear for a few days. We have 8 different Christmases to get through from now till Sunday. My fiance comes from a very large German family and last year Christmas about killed me. I tried to hand make all of my gifts. I was up till two in the morning Christmas Eve and then I had to get up at six on Christmas to finish. I was tired and gumpy and I started crying. Sooooo...needless to say I got into action early this year. All of my presents were bought, wrapped and finished by last night. So today I am just going to sit back and enjoy the festivities and try to remember the true meaning of Christmas!

trousseaus

Trousseau \Trous`seau"\ (tr[=oo]`s[=o]"), n. [F., fr. OF.
trossel, dim. of trousse a bundle, truss. See Truss.]
The collective lighter equipments or outfit of a bride,
including clothes, jewelry, and the like; especially, that
which is provided for her by her family.

Moving to Europe really made me downsize. I had a garage sale and sold almost everything that I owned. I had one box that I was storing at my parents and one medium sized suitcase....one...suitcase...was I crazy or genius? Turns out it was genius. Everything in that suitcase was new. New clothes, new style, new everything. Those things became a part of my new life-a part of my life that was exciting and new- much like starting off married life. Which has me thinking about wedding trousseau's. Seems kinda silly and old fashion. {but do you want to know a secret?} I kinda like the idea.

I love Katie Holmes' Armani duds designed specifically for her wedding week. This is a huge new chapter in my life. Me and Ryan are starting a family. Like any new phase in life-as a fashion and design conscious person- I have to think what I want my style to say as a married woman. How to I want people to perceive me as a wife?

And like starting a new school year, clothes make you feel ready and prepared. Every woman should have a nice dress. Maybe a string of pearls. I don't have specifics nailed down but I am thinking that a good old fashion trousseau is for me.

something pretty

Just wanted to share something pretty and cheerful. After a long day of work I am running on low-need to recharge and prepare for Christmas- only 3 more days! Enjoy this eye candy from StyleMePretty and possibly be inspired for some of your own holiday wrapping...

burlap

I have burlap on the brain. Something about it just seems to click with the look I want for my wedding- which I will talk more about in an upcoming post. I want to mix the burlap with elements like satin ribbon and lace. I like the hardness vs. the soft and feminine. My mom found these fantastic tablecloths. They are made out of paper and look like linen. They have the most lovely shade of chocolate brown AND they are half the price of renting tablecloths! The linen look is perfect because we are getting married at the end of the summer and nothing says summer more then linen.

So my idea is to make some kind of burlap runner to layer over the "linen" tablecloths....what do you guys think?? I have even been toying with the idea of adding some kind of shimmer or sparkle to the burlap. So many possibilities! I think I still have a lot of work to do on the center pieces but the tables are coming along nicely!

Have any of you used burlap in your own weddings? If so send me and email or pictures I would some inspiration!

country chic wedding

I love this bride's chic idea of a bib- especially if you are having a casual barbecue wedding.

church wreaths

So if you are getting married in a church like me, I think that wreaths are a great way to add a little something special for your wedding day. Its a great way to great people with the style of your wedding. There are all kinds of wreaths-for all kinds of seasons!

Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter- doesn't matter there is one to fit every style and theme!

chic proposal

I am engaged! After years of waiting my moment has finally come! For those of you who don't know me- let me fill you in. I am a girl who started buying wedding magazines in the sixth grade. My electronic keyboard had a slew of songs that it could play on its own and I use to play Pacabell's "Cannon" and pretend to walk down the aisle to the man of my dreams...who that was I had no idea. Then when I graduated and broke up with my long time boyfriend I realized that the real world had a different plan for me and my wedding. It wasn't going to happen as soon as I had planned. It would be seven years before that dream would finally come true. In the meantime I made a big decision.

While on vacation in New York City visiting my cousin I had a revelation. I was going to have adventures. I remember exactly where I was. I was in Battery Park. I had had interviews all day with potential bosses. The sun was setting over the harbor and the Statue of Liberty was in the distance and I was in love. I was going to move here. I was going to see things and experience life and I was going to find love along the way. I was sure. I could just feel it. So I moved. I moved a lot and I met people and had good times and bad times but the most important thing was that I lived. I was pursuing life to the fullest and I was proud. I took a path that many are afraid to take.

The funny thing is that I ended up going half way around the world- clear to Germany- and ended up finding my love right back where I started. In my hometown-at a basketball game-for our little sisters who played together and were best buddies. Is it cliche that we met in the forth grade and he was the new kid in school who was sat next to me as my desk buddy? It may be but I don't care. If only forth grade me had known at the time that I was sitting next to the man I would marry. But maybe it was good that I didn't know because the search for him was half the fun. Back then he was just this freckled faced red headed kid who couldn't be quiet and now he is this sweet, positive man that I can't live without. We had to grow up to find each other.

Isn't it amazing how timing is everything? I always tell Ryan that he came along at just the right time. Not to soon and not too late. It was perfection. He was everything I had been looking for. Any sooner and we would have just crossed paths and never thought about it. So a word of advice- live your life because you never know what a simple basketball game can bring. Maybe it will just be some bad popcorn or it could be the man your going to marry.

Back in September I took Ryan to New York City. For Midwestern boy it was a big adventure and I loved sharing it with him. We had a blast walking around and seeing all the sites. We even made a pilgrimage up the Hudson River where I had lived. But the last day was the best. We went to Battery Park and it was like coming full circle. When I was 18 I went off to look for Ryan and now at 25 I had found him. He proposed in Central Park right next to the lake on a little hill away from everyone. I was completely surprised and awestruck. The ring he had picked out all on his own was beautiful and so me. Everyone will tell you he did a great job. And that's me and Ryan's style. A lot of Midwest with a little bit of city.

So follow me on chic journey as I planned a country wedding with a little bit of city chic. I like to think this is how we will live out life. We live in the Midwest but the world will always be with me. I carry little pieces of the places I have been with me always. I like to think its one of the reasons Ryan loves me.