My Security Blanket

I've been waiting for the 2010 edition of Real Simple Weddings to come out since summer of 2009 (when I realized/decided I was going to marry Michael). Real Simple is a trusted and true go-to source for classic, accessible design. Their samples and advice will be timeless, so it's well-worth the $13.95 (and who knew Borders doesn't allow us to use the 33% off coupons on magazines? I mean, we LOVE Borders, so this puzzles me...)

So, when I pulled it off the shelf, I was pleased and excited that the cover featured a bouquet very similar to some of my favorite inspirations. I held it up to Michael and said, "Welcome to your wedding, honey!"

In addition to the cover, more of our ideas were included throughout the magazine. Now, I know I'm not trendy, but it's so reassuring for an indecisive rookie to know we're heading in the right direction. The below picture shows us how to maintain a color theme while still being flexible with our attendants. (Hmm, where have we seen this before? :-)

Browsing the pages, I was not disappointed. The magazine features some real weddings, with tips for DIY-ers out there on a budget. One featured wedding had a budget of around $9,000! Yes, it can be done! Other very helpful articles included Flowers at a Glance, a tutorial for us floral novices, and a Silhouette Glossary with recommendations for real body types, not just curvy and tall. Also, a pullout guide includes a planning calendar, registry essentials, budget worksheet, photographer shot list, and big day survival kit list, because, seriously, who can keep all of this stuff straight?

Now I sound like I'm writing a recommendation or an advertisement, but I just wanted to help out other brides-to-be who can't afford a wedding consultant!

Please let me know what inspires you!

Engagement Pictures!

Michael and I chose Novo Studio (thanks to Nate Brown for the tip!) to capture our engagement and wedding, and we could not be happier with the results! Philip Thomas and his sweet wife Kristen have been so easy and SO FUN to work with! Philip is innovative and adventurous in his shooting style, and his editing is creative and careful.

I was a bit nervous when I woke up on the day of our engagement session to find the ground covered in a blanket of beautiful white snow. But Philip, on top of things as always, sent me an email saying he would proceed with the session if we wanted to. Michael offered that our pictures would be unique, and, before I knew it, we were bundling up and heading to Borders to begin a fun couple of hours.

Below are some of my favorite pictures!

Check out the rest of our so fun pictures by clicking here. Type in your own email address, and the event code is l+m_engagement09 . Also, see how creative Novo Studio can get by playing around on the blog or following along on Facebook. You'll not be disappointed!

So far...

Ohmygoodness! So much has happened since Michael proposed on Veteran's Day, November 11. Soon I'll post "The Story of Us" (to steal a phrase from a good friend), but in the mean time, I wanted to bring everyone up to date on the plans as they stand now.

We're getting married at 7 p.m. on June 19, 2010! The venue is the Chapel on the Creeks in Rogers (there is a small pond behind the chapel with a walking track around it; when I walked on the track, I admired the chapel, thinking it would be a lovely, picturesque location for a spring wedding, and wallah! Here we are). A reception will follow at the Holiday Inn, Rogers. For folks who want to book reservations, click here. We have a block of rooms, and this page is already set up. If want to call for reservations, the phone number is 1.479.845.1300. If you do call, make sure to mention our reception to get the reduced rate.

One of the main things we knew when we started planning the wedding was that we wanted Michael to wear his uniform (come on girls, guys in uniform, you know what I'm talking about!). So that made choosing colors much easier for this indecisive bride-to-be (it's still fun, exciting, and a bit-nervous-making to type that!). We decided to go with navy blue and white with natural accents of green. With that in mind, I created this inspiration board that I hope captions the feeling we want to create for our wedding. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The Purpose

As of now, this blog is dual-purpose: chronicling my wedding planning, and, hopefully, assisting our wedding guests with rsvp-ing, directions, etc. (Also, as I haven't been to school all week, I have much-time to play and experiment, which is fun!)

So, here goes a small new adventure...