the perfect day.

Life has been crazy around here. Let's see…since I last posted, I traveled to a different country, moved to another state, and got a new last name. 

Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do. Here's a brief rundown of our wedding weekend. 

Friday: bridesmaid brunch, rehearsal at J&D, rehearsal dinner

Saturday: wedding!

We took thousands of pictures,  but I don't have any on my camera…so here's a sneak peek from our wonderful photographer!

The day was absolutely perfect. I married my best friend while surrounded by all of my amazing friends and family. There was not a cloud in the sky and the decorations came together just like we hoped. My grandfather performed the ceremony, which made everything that much more special. While the world tells us that your wedding day is all about you, I was reminded that the day is not about me. It's not even about us. It's about the Lord displaying his love, mercy, and grace through us. It's about the people around us that have supported us throughout our lives, and have taught us to love Christ and one another. It's a celebration of all these things and people, and, I hope, that it was a day that pointed people to Christ and served as a reminder that we love because He first loved us. 

Graduation, Moving, and Celebrations

First, if you haven't read Caroline's comprehensive post about college, go read it now. It may have been the best post on this little blog ever. I laughed, I cried... Okay, maybe I didn't cry, but I am starting to get emotional about not living with her next year. But really, just read it.

So, here's what's happened in the whirlwind of the last few weeks…

Graduated college

Moved all of our stuff to Arkansas in a 24-foot truck

And had our last two wedding parties before the wedding week!

Stay posted because exciting things are always happening around here!!

Success Lately.

Took engagement pictures with our amazing wedding photographer.

Had a successful last AOII formal with these cool people.

A Braves win on opening day made for a great trip with sweet friends.

Last time to wear ritual whites. #alum

Found a house to live in next year. Arkansas, here we come.

Spent time with wonderful friends and family at our Around the House Shower.

And finished writing my capstone paper. Hallelujah.

Save the Dates: DIY

(So that awkward white space at the bottom of the save the date isn't actually there. I took off the location and the wedding website because this is the internet. And, well, I don't want creepy people showing up at my wedding. Preferably.)

 Our save the dates went out a while ago, but I realized I never shared them on here!

I was simply going to just order the save the dates, but everything seemed way too expensive and looked like I could make it myself. So that's what I did. 

Here was the process of making our save the dates:

I (finally) picked one of our save the date photos and then added all of the extras in photoshop. After picking up several packs of matte paper from Staples, we easily printed them at home and cut them.

The hardest part was addressing all of the envelopes. Thankfully, I had some of my wonderful bridesmaids helping and it made the process go a lot faster!

{107 days} I think I need to speed up this whole wedding planning thing because the big day is right around the corner!

gadgets, gifts, and guitars

Gadgets: Our Tool & Gadget Party was last weekend and it was so much fun! Sweet friends and family showered us with more tools and gadgets than we could ever need. I see some pinterest projects on the horizon. All of the love and support of the people who came means so much to us! 

Gifts: A lot of people despise Valentine's Day, which I can understand. But it's an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate and write love letters, so obviously I'm a fan. 

Guitars: Yesterday I took some pictures for my sweet friend, and we had so much fun! I'm now inspired to learn guitar and rock cowboy boots more often. 

Engagement party

I'm happy to say that our first wedding party was a wonderful success!

Kevin and I are so blessed to have such great people around us, showering us with love during this exciting time. People who remind us the importance of preparing for marriage more than a wedding. People who remind us that we love because of God's love. And people who are beautiful examples of what a Christ-centered marriage should look like.  

I am so thankful for our family and friends. And I am so overwhelmed by such a merciful and loving God. 

Here's to collecting moments rather than things and recognizing the extravagant amount of love in the midst of a hectic, yet magical time.  

Getting organized

So. This was the chaos of wedding planning before I decided that I had to get organized. 

Then I bought this magical file folder from Target...

 And life still may be crazy, but at least there is now some sense of organization.

Also, we finally took our save the date photos so check back for a preview sometime soon!

Wedding planning 101

If you haven't heard from me lately, it's probably because wedding planning is a bit consuming. There are so many great ideas out there and SO many decisions to make about the big day! Here's a few necessities for planning and finding inspiration (besides pinterest)…

• Green Wedding Shoes
• Wedding magazines (Real Simple Weddings, Southern Weddings, etc.)  
• Coffee. obviously. 
• Moleskine
• Microsoft Excel. so. many. lists.
• Day Planner

If I don't write down everything, I will probably forget.
Example 1: I lost my car.  Literally. I walked out of the apartment to drive to the post office and could not find my car. I panicked, of course, and walked back inside. Then I remembered that I had driven to campus yesterday morning. Apparently I completely forgot that I had driven and found another way to get home. The scary part is that I did not ever remember this until very late in the next day, and only when I was searching for my car.
My roommates think I'm crazy, and rightfully so.
This is just one example of what wedding planning does to a perfectly sane person. Okay, maybe I wasn't 100% sane to begin with. But still. 

In other news, we saw the place where we are getting married!! I couldn't ask for a better venue or nicer people to work with. Here's a sneak peek (you might've seen this on instagram):

Eeeek!! So much excitement.

Bridesmaids Boxes: DIY

So I knew I wanted to do something special to ask my bridesmaids and after seeing this blog post, I knew I wanted to do something similar! (Although mine were not quite as elaborate or detailed since I'm still in the first stages of planning)

Here are the steps I went through to accomplish the final product…

Buy wooden boxes from Hobby Lobby. I was originally going to get them all the same box, but of course HL didn't have 7 of the same size. But it was okay because it made each of the girls' gifts that much more unique!

Paint each of them with a base coat of white paint.

 Put down tape on the edges before painting the tops with chalkboard paint. (I highly recommend not using spray paint because even though it was quick, it ended up being more messy than I thought)

Come up with list of what to put inside the boxes. Here's what mine had:
               -notebook
               -my flowers (fake- from Hobby Lobby)
               -my colors (paint swatches from Home Depot)
               -other details that will be in my wedding: Lace and burlap (found burlap cutouts in the
                   scrapbooking section of Hobby Lobby
               -note (I came up with a poem…total English major move)
               -Chocolate

And then the boxes are ready for final touches before asking the girls!

{They all said yes!}

surprises and smiles.

 September 4, 2012. 
Here's what went down on this memorable day…
Got out of class at 3:15 and hurried home because Kevin wanted to go to the park before my meeting at 5. After rushing home, I quickly grabbed a slice of pizza and my water bottle from the fridge because I was starving. Obviously I had no idea what was in store because stuffing your face with cold pizza clearly isn't the most romantic thing. So after Kevin picked me up, we headed to Kiesel park to lay in the hammock and work on homework. We walked up and Kevin suggested we post up under the pavillion since it might rain. Umm okay. Still no idea. We walk up and I see pictures of us lined up under the pavillion, with candles along the way. Starting to freak out. I ask him repeatedly, "What IS this?" as we continue to walk down the path. We stop and Kevin gets his Bible out and reads from Ephesians 5 (Husbands love your wives…) and John 13 (Jesus washes his disciples' feet). Umm... still in shock over here! He washes my feet and tells me a lot of sweet things (insert mushy stuff here) and continually talks about keeping our focus on Christ. Down on one knee, he asks me those four words that every girl dreams about: "Will you marry me?" I don't actually remember saying yes, but I know I did because he slipped a beautiful ring on my finger!

Cary, Liz, and Caroline emerged from behind trees, trash cans, and bushes--all with a camera in hand. So thankful for such great friends to capture the whole proposal!

After a quick photo shoot and several phone calls, we went back to Kevin's apartment and, little did I know, there were surprises still in store. Sweet friends and both of our families drove down to celebrate the excitement with us and I was so happy they did!

It was a day I will never forget and I am so blessed to see how the Lord has worked in both of our lives and how He always has a plan.