when the lights go down

When the lights go down...

Magic happens

Eat, Drink, and be Married!

I loved having my wedding and reception at the home where I'd grown up. LOVED IT! I loved having the ceremony on the edge of the woods where I'd spent hours building forts with my siblings, carved my name in a large tree, and caught fireflies on warm summer evenings. I have so many wonderful memories of that place and I'm so thankful I could start a new chapter of my life at the place that I hold so dear.





I loved having the reception under the open sky as the sun was setting and then seeing the twinkling of white lights and candles. I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling having all eyes on me and having to say hello to everyone during the reception because I don't love being the center of attention. But I ended up loving every moment of it! I loved the relaxing atmosphere of the night, I loved our cheese and fruit table, I loved our simple menu of salad and lasagne, loved our band!

with this ring...

There is something sacred to me about the exchanging of rings. I love the symbolism rings hold, what they represent: I place this ring on your finger because I want the world to know you belong by my side for as long as we both shall live. You are mine, I am yours. We are each others. When I first got engaged I was constantly looking down at my ring, constantly fiddling with it. I loved the feeling that I had been "taken"... I was "off the market" ...let the world know. And I love looking down now at my husband's strong hand and seeing that ring on his finger... he is taken, he is mine forever... let the world know.

Yes, let it be known, he is mine!

white girls can't jump... especially in cowboy boots!

Bahahaha! The pics speak for themselves. Happy weekend!

the gents

One of the only request my guy had was he wanted to be as comfortable as possible. He gets hot SUPER fast in the heat and so we went for a cool and casual look with the vest and ties, very appropriate for an outdoor wedding. I LOVED their ties! We found them at Southern Proper which had a great selection to chose from. The black-eye-peas seem to add a nice southern flare and my mom ended up using black -eye-peas in the table arrangements too. And my grandma topped their look off with crisp, white hankies. They looked so handsome!

the bride loves floral, part 2

As I said before I like floral. I new I didn't want my girls wearing the solid typical bridesmaid dress. I ended up looking everywhere for fabric and finally found what I was looking for! I hadn't planned on them wearing brown but when my sister saw this fabric I new it was what I wanted. I then had a friend of my moms make the dresses so they they turned out very inexpensive. And very cute! I even got one made for myself! :)

the bride loves floral

I gave my bridesmaids robes as gifts so we could look super fabulous even while getting ready. So for the last months I'd been scouring every shop and online boutique for unique robes. And I found them. Most of them came from Plum Pretty Sugar in the end because I loved the beautiful floral colors she has (you might remember I got one here for me too and LOVED wearing in Jamaica btw!). Each time I added to the collection I'd get more excited about giving them! We had so much fun getting ready! Can I please relive it all over!

for the love of my accessories

One thing that was very important to me because my dress was very simple was my accessories. I wanted me to look like me on my wedding day with a little wow factor... You might remember I had made a few decisions about my look here and bought this fabulous flower from Anrthro... well, i stuck with that decision and LOVED LOVED the result of my "country shabby sheek" look.

I wasn't exactly sure how to do my hair with my large, fabulous flower, but Maci, my girl who cuts/colors my hair and is just totally fabulous really came through!! I really owe her BIG time, because I was hesitant at first with the side pony but she convinced me it was my look. And she was SOOO right... Thank you Maci!

I loved that I wore my cowboy boots. My dad gave them to me a few years ago and he loves that I actually wear them. I love my cowboy boots! And it was such a "me" thing to wear them.

my dress

I took a chance in ordering my dress online from jcrew many months ago. And the chance paid off! I ordered the Sabine dress and then had these fabulous, frilly straps place on it. And I loved how it turned out! This dress was me. It spoke to me, simple, elegance, strength. It was exactly what I wanted! And when I stepped into it I felt like the bride of my dreams.