Save The Dates

Creating Save the Date cards was one aspect of wedding planning that I LOVED doing!  They were so fun to create!  Not to mention, Anthony Byrnes Photography left us with some amazing picture options to use :)

Here they are:

 (Front)

(Back)

I just love the way they turned out and we've gotten so many compliments on them!  I used shutterfly to create them... Shutterfly has AMAZING deals on their products!  I was able to create around 150 save the dates for hundreds of dollars less than other companies!  They came printed on thick, high quality card stock and looked very professional.  If you're looking to save money, yet still have very nice quality work, I would definitely recommend shutterfly!  

Choosing Bridesmaid Dresses

Choosing bridesmaid dresses has been one of the most difficult, stressful aspects of wedding planning!  I'm only having a small army of girls in my wedding (haha) and I wanted everyone to look and feel their best.  Due to my wedding colors, I knew David's Bridal (the typical bridesmaid dress kind of store) would be limited in selection for me.  In fact, they didn't have anything in the color I was wanting!  I searched on the internet for a while, however, it's always nicer when you can see the dresses in person.  On a whim, I decided to look a Low's in Brinkley to see if they carried bridesmaid dresses and they do!

So my mom, my sisters, and I drove down to Low's on a Saturday in March that everyone had free.  I was totally impressed at the selection of Bridesmaid dresses they had, and the rainbow of colors to choose from. The 1st dress they tried on was the one I loved!  Score!  My mom even found a dress that she loved to wear to the wedding as well.

So far, Low's has been wonderful to work with, and I can't wait to see the dresses when they come in!

How I Asked My Bridesmaids

Last summer, shortly after we became engaged, I was in Kansas City with Jeremy.  I stumbled across the cutest little stationary shop in The Plaza and came across these precious cards....

I knew I had to get them for the girls who have been so special in my life and who I cannot imagine getting married without them by my side :)  

So I wrote inside each about how much each girl meant in my life and how much I wanted them to be a part of my special day, and then mailed them away!

The girls all loved them and I thought it put a special touch on such an important part of our wedding day.

How did Jeremy ask his groomsmen?  Well... probably a text message.... you know guys ;)

Our Engagement Pictures Experience

Having engagement pictures taken is something I dreamed of for so many years while watching all my friends get to experience such a fun time with their fiances.  Of course when Jeremy and I first became engaged, some of my first thoughts went to choosing a photographer (that's a later post) and planning our engagement pictures.

I knew I wanted our photos to feature us (duh!) and fall in Northwest Arkansas.  Seriously, Fayetteville is the prettiest during fall.  I also wanted our pictures to included unique locations, and have a variety of scenes (urban, outdoors, indoors, etc.).  I also warned my photog that I would be "high-maintnance" ;).

Many nights after dinner Jeremy and I would drive around Fayetteville scoping out the "perfect" locations.  With that being said, it was good to have ideas in mind and we used several of them.... but most of our favorite pictures came from walking off of the beaten path and just "going with the flow".  Even sneaking into a local coffee shop to "borrow" their electricity for our Christmas lights picture!

I had read on another photographer's blog to not stress about wedding details the day of our pictures and just spend the morning enjoying each other and flirting before our pictures.  Well.... that wasn't really realistic for us.  Jeremy attended his sister, Megan's cheerleading competition, and I got to enjoy spending hours getting ready.  (Which I will admit was SO fun... what girl doesn't love getting all dolled up).  This just meant we were able to flirt all day long in front of the camera :)

Picking our outfits.... This part was a blast.  I picked my outfits first.  I chose a variety of outfits and color schemes that I knew I would feel fantastic in :)   Then Jeremy and I went shopping for his!  I enjoyed helping him choose his outfits as much as I did shopping for mine!  We made sure not to be too "matchy" but still in the same color scheme and concept.  I think we did well :)

The day of our pictures I had a blast.  Throughout the entire wedding planning process, Jeremy has been focused on making sure I enjoy every moment and get to have my "dream wedding".  I mean seriously.... I'm a lucky girl.  He was no different for our engagement pictures.  He made sure I felt beautiful and adored, and that I enjoyed every minute.    I'll always cherish that day.

The Wedding Post

Yall... our engagement pictures were featured on The Wedding Post of Arkansas!  I just love it when our pictures pop up on my facebook news feed.  This is such a fun season in life and I'm so thankful I have a sweet fiance who doesn't mind "all things wedding".

Go check our the full post HERE.  

New Year, New Post

Yep... I've pretty much sucked in the blogging world these past couple of months.  The holidays left us even busier than we normally are, and to be perfectly honest, I just enjoyed the moment without worrying about blogging.  However, I really do enjoy blogging and want to blog this year to be able to look back at all the fun moments of our 13 month engagement, so let me catch up on the fun moments of the past couple of months....

Competition Cheer season has ended.  My freshman squad won 1st place at their first competition and then had a horrible showing at their last one.  The varsity squad won state for the second year in a row!

The holidays were spent in Cabot at my parents house and in Paris at Jeremy's parents homes.  I'll admit it was a bit weird having to spent time away from my family for the holidays, but Jeremy's family welcomed me with open arms :)  Did I mention I'm going to have 3 new sisters-in-laws?  Lots of girls are always around and it's a blast!

 Christmas also sent lots of snow to Central Arkansas and we were cooped up at my parents' home for most of it.  We started playing rumikub with my parents and I found out Jeremy is a HORRIBLE loser!  Hahaha.
Also, my dad tends to make up his own rules in his favor :)

We introduced the game to our friends Brittany and Andrew and they've become addicted as well.  I see lots of game nights in our future.  What's neat is I remember as a little girl my parents would always invite the Payne's over (the family of my best friend Ashley) and they would always play rumikub while we played and had pizza.   The tradition lives on!

The great tree debate is still up between Jeremy and I.  He has always grown up with a real tree, while I've grown up with a fake tree.  We'll see who wins and which type we get next year ;)   I loved decorating my small tree with a rustic theme this year.  

Jeremy's mom graduated from Arkansas Tech this past December.  We are SO proud of her!!  We attended her graduation in Russellville and had a lot of fun celebrating.  This May BOTH of my sisters will also graduate from Tech!

In December, Jeremy and I took a little trip to The Lodge at Mt. Magazine.  It's always gorgeous.  It doesn't even feel like you're in Arkansas when you're there.  

Heelyn keeps getting bigger and bigger and it just a true joy to be around.  She is seriously the funniest, smartest little girl I know.  She just says and does things that make us laugh so much.  I hate being away from her, but it's always a treat when I get to see her.  She loves Jeremy too....

Of course there have been Razorback basketball games to attend, although I haven't gone to many yet this year.  Jeremy always tries to go to as many as he can, and I tend to "pick and choose" which ones I go to.  There are only so many sporting events this girl can take in one week!

Well, there's the abridged version of our lives these past few months!  Here's to hoping I can become a "better blogger".

Arkansas Bride

Our engagement has been featured in Arkansas Bride!  I was so excited when the story popped up on my Facebook newsfeed....

Go on over to the Arkansas Bride blog to read the full story and leave us a comment!