Happy Wednesday! It’s time for my (not so) weekly wedding update. I’ve been making a lot of progress lately, since my brother is feeling better. Just to give you an idea of where we are so far we are getting married June 28, 2014 so we are about 14 months out at this point. We chose our venue and they provide pretty much only a structure for dancing, tables, and chairs. I will need to rent or buy everything else we will need. Our ceremony will be in a pine grove, and reception set up outside of the barn, then the dancing/dessert bar will be inside the barn. I couldn’t be excited about it! You can see more about the location in this post. I have our florist, photographer, DJ, and a dress (EEEE!). I’m speaking to an officiant this week, and I feel like I’m making strides! There’s still a ton to do, especially rental wise, in the next year and a couple of months. Here are some things I’ve been pinning lately to let you know where my head is at. Are any of you planning a wedding or recently engaged? I’d be happy to help with getting organized, my binder and budget organizer are pretty serious!

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I can’t even start talking to you guys about all of the invitation options there are in this world. Thank goodness I still have over a year to plan this wedding because I’m pretty sure it’s going to take me at least half of that to find the right invitation. But then what happens when you start thinking about calligraphy. As an OCD bride, how the heck am I going to get calligraphy to match the font of the invite? The second I typed calligraphy into Etsy over the weekend, my mind was blown. So, which one do you like the best? These are from an Etsy shop called Noteworthy & Blue… love!

Okay guys, another big weekend… I think I found *the* dress! I can’t even believe I’m saying these words considering I’m so unbelievably picky I thought it would take me months and months. Well, it was the second store I went to! I had the absolute worst experience at Kleinfeld so I was absolutely thrilled when I walked into Gabriella New York to see a small shop filled with gorgeous dresses and the nicest consultant I could have ever asked for. She was so helpful and really listened to what I wanted! I have two more appointments this coming weekend and then I’m headed back to Gabriella on the 22nd for a trunk show but I’m assuming that nothing will even come close to the dress I love… my Mom and I actually got teary eyed. I’m going to stop babbling and show you some photos of brides looking oh so pretty on their wedding days, I can only hope to look this good!

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Style Me Pretty (both the site and the book) have been a huge inspiration to me while starting my wedding planning. I’m constantly stumbling upon inspirational photos of dresses, flowers, tablescapes… you name it. But yesterday I stumbled upon a styled shoot that I loved every. single. photo of. It just works and you’ve got to check it out.

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

 See the Style Me Pretty feature here… hurry!

Okay, everyone. It’s time for a wedding update. We are going to see three venues this weekend and I’m really hoping one of these will blow us away. I want to give you guys an idea of what we’re looking at so here we go.

ONE//

Mountain Springs Lake Resort

TWO//

Skytop Lodge

THREE//

Woolverton Inn

So what do you think? They are all very different from each other so I’m hoping we will be blown away by one and can sign on the dotted line. So far our search has come up empty… it’s a very tough thing to find where you want to start the rest of your life. I want it to be very intimate and personal and I don’t get that from the majority of the places we have seen. Wish us luck!

You’ve all heard about my wedding plans and I am so excited to get to all of the little details. Like how to incorporate glitter and gold into my wedding, of course. I can’t stop pinning photos of gold cakes, it’s kind of becoming an obsession. Can we talk about how I’m going to have to have ten cakes to make sure I cover all my bases?

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Okay guys, we may have found the venue. I promised this wouldn’t turn into a wedding blog, but I also promised that you would all know when big things happened. Since we were engaged in July I’ve been looking for the perfect venue. I can see my wedding in my head, but nothing had been ticking all of the boxes for a venue. Without the right bones, nothing I do could make it work. I left Andrew at home yesterday and my Mom and I departed on what would be an entire day of wedding venue visits. As soon as we pulled up to The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls I knew it was going to be great. Exposed brick, floor to ceiling windows, ivory curtains with hints of gold glitter thread, gold furniture in the bridal suite, barn doors, a perfectly designed lounge for an after party, and just pure awesomness. Made my Mom and I both teary eyed.

It’s the perfect blend of industrial and rustic. Down to the littlest details they incorporate modern/industrial light fixtures and architecture with nature and the beauty of the falls. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention there is a waterfall involved? Are you sold, too? I can’t wait to bring Andrew so he can see it in person!

Images via Sarah Tew Photography

I’ve always loved Jenny Packham but since I got engaged I’ve been totally obsessed. I feel like everywhere I go I see a Jenny Packham dress in an ad, on a wedding site, and especially on pinterest. I’ve already contacted a bridal salon in the city about the Fall 2013 line, and I CANNOT wait until the day I’m able to try them on. I hope I can look half as good in one of the styles as these ladies look in their Jenny Packhams!

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When I first got engaged I put together this inspiration board of what I thought my ideal wedding would look like. It’s been about two months since I wrote that post and I can’t believe how much has already changed. I love the look of that board, but after visiting a venue yesterday that was absolutely gorgeous I can’t help but find myself drifting away from that initial idea. So here is wedding 2.0, as I like to call it. A bigger and better version of the original idea based off of an actual place we are 99% sure we will be married in.

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I know this new plan will grow from here and I already have some big ideas, but here are a few things you will certaintly be seeing on my wedding day… An arbor atop a hill draped in white linens; long reception tables in a barn to encourage conversation; lighting in the form of lanterns and twinkle lights; and wish lanterns… lots and lots of wish lanterns.

Photographs are one of the most important aspects of our wedding. Since we have a while to plan (so that all of the ideas that have been running through my head all these years can come to fruition) I’ve been looking at images that really speak to me to show potential photographers. I want to make sure that someone can capture the mood of the wedding and our love for each other. We don’t want to see each other before the ceremony, so it’s extremely important for us to have those “first look” photos captured while the ceremony is taking place. Then of course there are the obligatory portraits that will happen during cocktail hour. With only an hour to get all of them in, we have to make sure to choose someone who really gets us. Here are the photos that are bringing me pretty darn close to tears this Wedding Wednesday.

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