Long time, no blog!

This Christmas thoroughly exhausted me. From rushing back forth from Lexington to Cynthiana and back to Louisville to last minute shopping and the very sad passing away of my Granddad, I still have yet to recover. My sister and brother in law have been in town and I've totally fallen in love with my nephew, Franklin. I've spent lots of time holding and playing with him and I will miss him a lot when he goes back to Canada!

Abe and I also got lots of nice Christmas presents! 

And we got a few things done on the wedding front! I officially asked all of my MOH and bridesmaids to be in the wedding and they all said yes! I love Lindy, Amanda, Kendall, Megan and Whitney and can't wait for them to stand next to me on the big day in October.

In addition to asking all of the girls, I also went to Twirl boutique in Lexington and tried on wedding gowns for the first time! I knew that I wanted to do something fun and wedding-y while my sister was in town, so trying on gowns seemed like the perfect choice.

There were mimosas and lots of tulle involved! 

I tried on a bit of everything since it was my first time and although I didn't find anything I totally fell in love with (and had a Say Yes to the Dress moment) I did find one dress that I really liked. The style was something I wouldn't have expected for myself, but when I put it on, I really liked it! Obviously I won't put any pictures of myself on the blog in a dress that I liked, but I will leave you with this picture of one dress I clearly DIDN'T like (look at my face!).

As we wrap up the holiday season, I'm hoping I can get back into my normal routine of working and exercising and sleeping at least 8 hours a day (I love my sleep). I also hope to do a lot more with wedding planning. I already have a wedding show on my calendar for January and I want to go to several more boutiques and try on additional dresses! 

It's hard to believe 2015 will be here soon, but Abe and I have a lot to look forward to in the coming year!

I've been in several weddings and totally loved helping the bride plan for the big day and choose details for their weddings. From buying bridal magazines, to sending Pinterest inspiration and attending bridal shows and showers, I loved it all. Now that I'm planning my own wedding all I can think about is the stress that comes with planning. Never before did I had to worry about the logistics of feeding 200+ people or deciding on an invitation suite that both Abe and I like. I didn't know about the fees that come with hiring a caterer or understand how hard it is to create a guest list. Everyone tells me to stop stressing but all I can think about is money. Every time I get excited about something I then think about the cost associated with said thing and I don't want to include it anymore. Lush floral bouquets and delicious sounding food? Forget about it...unless you want to break the bank.

Basically....

I got an email from The Knot yesterday that reminded me that I only have 10 more months till the big day. This reminder made me excited, but also a bit nervous! There is so much to do on the wedding front and I've taken a little bit of a break from the vendor planning and instead have been dreaming about wedding colors and design. The words I like to use to describe my wedding are southern, preppy, and classic (anyone who knows me should not be surprised about this!).

I've been envisioning a billowing white tent and outdoor dance floor (twinkling bistro lights are a must).

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Navy, being one of my favorite colors, will have to be incorporated into my color scheme.

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Also, bows. Gimme all the bows.

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And monograms are a must!

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There are so many lovely photos and inspiration on Pinterest and websites like Southern Weddings...I could (and do) spend hours looking at them!

Back to the checklist that The Knot sent me...so for month 10 I'm supposed to:

Book officiant

Find and meet caterers and then book one 

Book photographer (DONE, yay for Bella Grace Photography) 

Book reception and ceremony site 

Ask bridal party to be in wedding

Take engagement photos (probably get this done in January) 

Block out hotel rooms

Try on wedding dresses (Squeeeeeee!!!!)

Pin invitations, flowers and cake pictures

Find a florist

December is an especially busy month (with the crazy holiday season and my sister, brother in law and nephew coming to visit!), so getting things done should be interesting!