This still isn't real life :)

Alright today is gonna be a "wedding day". I don't post much, and I really don't post much about my upcoming wedding. I would love to share my plans but honestly I have not been able to be a huge planner (like usual) because of school and being out of town. But I have a few things I can share and today just seemed like the perfect day to do it!

As you know, well maybe, if you're my friend on facebook then you know that I have been engaged to Reed for 136 days and our wedding day, August 4th 2012, is 71 days from now! 71 is an odd number to celebrate but it just hit me hard today.

IN 71 DAYS I AM MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND!

 AND EVERYONE I LOVE WILL BE THERE!!

I think it hit me today because I have been blessed to receive the mock up of our final invitation, the preview of our engagement pictures, and have made progress with so many other plans like, the bachelorette weekend, house decorations, updated our registry, finalizing our song selection, bridesmaid dresses, and so much more!!! 

Because I feel like I could explode with joy I have decided to let you guys in on some of the fun :) 

Don't worry, I'm not gonna ruin the surprise. Most of the big details will be left out so that when you show up for the big event you will still be surprised! 

1st lets go back to some basic details. 

-We are getting married later in the evening (around 7) August 4th. Yes we know it will be hot and thats why we picked a later time so hopefully their will be some shade and it will cool off once the sun dips behind the trees. 

 -We are keeping it VERY casual and laid back. We decided from the beginning that what is important to us is that we can share this time with everyone we love. So if we had to cut cost on decorations, flowers, and what not to accommodate for all the guests then so be it! 

 -We were blessed in so many ways and the first blessing was our venue. Our church family has stepped up an unbelievable amount and through different connections we found this beautiful field, barn, and pond that is owned by a family from our home church. They generously offered their place at no cost! And have even agreed to a few modifications to fix up the wedding in my DREAM spot!  

(doesn't this remind you of Pride and Prejudice?!) 

I can't begin to tell you how beautiful the land is! You will just have to wait for the real photographers to capture that!

Now lets move on to some of my more personal picks and details!

1. if you really wanna see my vision for the wedding go look at my Pinterest. I'll share some things from there but not everything.

- The color scheme I chose is pretty soft. Lots of dusky colors that you see when the sun is setting. They are soft cool colors that don't "take up much room". I knew from the start that I wanted soft colors that would compliment the nature around us.

 (I found this color pallet from Design Seeds)

-For bridesmaid dresses I just sent them the colors and am allowing them to pick their own. Lydia (my maid of honor and little sister) picked a beautiful dress from Forever21 and I've heard from some of the other girls that they have managed to find dresses from other small boutiques! (I gave them as much freedom as possible so some of the dresses are colors that aren't found in the pallet but that compliment and mesh well with the rest).

-Now this picture isn't what I'm doing. But  I thought it would be a good visual :)
I asked Reed to collect a few duck feathers and turkey wing feathers for me back in season. Luckily that was a task he and his boys enjoyed :) I have PLENTY of both kinds of feathers so I think I am going to use them for the boutonnières and maybe put some in my bouquet too!

          

                Source: weddingchicks.com via Gracie on Pinterest

                            Source: sugarsnap.tumblr.com via Gracie on Pinterest                                                                                             

- Just sayin, Daddy has already gotten a few of these off ebay :) He is enjoying wedding planning too!!

So, thats only a few of my ideas from the fabulous Pinterest

Now, on to the some of the more exciting details!

- I'm not gonna show yall the invitations even though I have the design finished and have the mock up in my hands. But this was our save the date.

My lovely friend Emily S. designed them for me! We are in school together and have become so close over the past 2 years. I knew I wanted something that looked hand done but I just didn't have the guts or the time to do it on my own. Emily did PERFECT! She captured the casual sweetness that we hope our wedding day will be filled with.

-Andy lastly. Reed and I have been SUPER blessed by the loving people around us. We have even been blessed by people that didn't know us until not to long ago. We found our photographers through good friends and family and knew they were exactly what we wanted. Budgeting was a little tight so I was uncertain if we were going to be able to make this work. Luckily, this couple was willing to be unbelievably generous before we even met! The Mondays  worked out a price that worked within our budget and the blessing didn't stop there. They are an amazing artistic team and we meshed right from the start. I had been emailing them back and forth talking about ideas for engagement and other stuff since the end of January and we FINALLY got to meet this past monday! Reed and I had an amazing time with them and they blessed us yet again with AWESOME pictures! Check out their blog and facebook to see some of the pictures!

Please visit The Mondays! They truly are an exceptional couple and fabulous photographers!! 

Well, I hope that wasn't to much gushing. I really am just so excited by how everything is turning out, and am stunned by the amount of generosity that has been thrown our way. I will continue to update y'all when the craft time gets closer!!



PS. I promise I haven't forgotten about the give-away! I'm working on that post this weekend!!