A Sucker for Pearls: Choosing Bridal Accessories

As we count down to the wedding day, I am really getting down in the weeds of all the little details, including the finishing touches on my wedding day look. I had a general idea of how I wanted my wedding day jewelry to look. I really like delicate jewelry, and I am wearing a super blingy belt, so I knew any super big or blingy pieces would draw attention away from my dress.

Blue Mom has been pushing for string pearls, since she feels this look is timeless, and I think she may have worn them on her wedding day, too. Mrs. Horseshoe wore some beautiful pearls for her wedding day, and it is truly a gorgeous and timeless look.

I happened to be wearing my favorite necklace the last time I tried my dress on. It was a gift from Mr. Blue Moon about four years ago, and it is the only piece I regularly wear besides my engagement ring.

It's a freshwater pearl, and I have since upgraded the chain to a white gold one. I was surprised by how pretty it looked with my dress. It complimented the look without taking away from it, and most importantly, it really helped me look and feel like myself. I know a lot of brides may not want to wear a piece they'd wear any other day, but I am sentimental and Mr. Blue Moon is, too, so I can't imagine a more perfect necklace.

My Nanna generously offered to lend me the rest of my jewelry, and I went over today to try some things on. 

Here's a throwback picture of my great-grandmother, who sadly is no longer with us, myself, and Nanna. Clearly I come from a long line of styln' ladies.

She had freshwater pearl stud earrings that looked super pretty with my necklace and my dark hair. I might end up eventually going for something more dangly, but I'm leaning towards keeping it simple for now. She gave me these to keep either way, so they along with my necklace can be my "somethings old" for the wedding day!

She also has a whole set of London blue topaz. We both have birthdays in December, so it's our birthstone. I opted to stick with my pearl necklace and earrings, but I am SO borrowing this bracelet. 

It is going to be my "something borrowed" and "something blue." I was a little worried about mixing metal colors and stones, but both Blue Mom and Nanna assured me it will look fine. They're a lot more jewelry-savvy than me, so I'm trusting their judgment on that one! 

Blue Mom had one more surprise for me today, which was to offer her shoe clips from her own wedding day in 1991. I had never heard of a shoe clip until today, but apparently they were all the rage (I'm much more ok with these than puff sleeves). 

Blue Mom clipped these to her ivory satin shoes twenty-five years ago, but I think they look just as fabulous and delightfully old school on my mint green wedding shoes. I'm going to be so honored to wear them down the aisle!

I am really pleased that I will be able to wear some of my favorite ladies' accessories on my wedding day, and I know that bracelet will be stunning. Hopefully Mr. Blue Moon is blown away when he sees the whole look together! 

How are you finding your wedding jewelry? Do you plan to borrow pieces, or buy pieces that fit your style perfectly? 

Alterations, aka, That Time We Basically Bought a Second Dress

When it comes to my wedding gown, I am not sure that I had A Moment like all those brides on Say Yes to the Dress. I got a little misty eyed, and I definitely feel beautiful in my gown, but once we placed the order, I basically forgot my wedding dress existed until it came in and I went for alterations. 

The main thing I was nervous about was whether I'd like the dress just as much in ivory-on-ivory as in ivory-on-champagne, which is what I tried it on in. 

Here they are side-by-side for comparison. The champagne dress is a lovely warm color, but something about the ivory feels so bridal to me. I'm happy we ordered it in the ivory! 

As you can see, the dress does need some changes. In the above photograph, it has been penned for hemming and we are also doing two simple stitches at the bust line to make sure it fits snugly. I'm 5'2" and have a short torso (family trait), so hemming is usually the name of my game. We're also letting the dress out at the sides a bit for a comfier fit and less wrinklage across the middle. 

This is what it looks like with the veil, and the bustle in the back. My seamstress calls this an American bustle, which basically means the bustle gets pinned outside the dress. It all looks like a bunch of tulle to me, but I guess Blue Mom and MOH K get to handle that part. 

Finally, I am having pearl buttons added down the back to the top of the sash bow. This is just a weird thing on my part, because I've always imagined buttons down the back. So buttons it shall be! 

All told, I could have purchased a pretty swell reception dress for the cost of the alterations to my one and only gown. But it has to be done, and I know it'll be so worth it when I'm feeling fabulous in my dream dress on my wedding day! 

How much did you have done in alterations? Did any lucky person out there find a dress that fit perfectly without any changes?

This is Insanity: Six Weeks Til Launch

I pretty much feel like this cat right now. Via Giphy.com.

In approximately six weeks at the time of this writing, I'll be walking down the aisle, about to become Mrs. Blue Moon! The problem with a long engagement is that the whole wedding part of it really sneaks up on you. Now that we're six weeks away, I am running around in what Mr. Blue Moon calls a "tizzy" trying to get everything done. It doesn't help that I am spending one of these six weeks directing a high school debate camp. I'm glad I get to do what I love, and the extra money is nice, but I am starting to feel like I'm spread a little thin so close to the wedding. 

The two of us are back in our hometown taking care of some wedding related business between the end of my school year (yay!) and the start of Mr. Blue Moon's job on Tuesday (double-yay!), and we are trying to get as much knocked out as possible. We spent a good chunk of today doing a walk-through of our reception venue before it undergoes inspections next week. Ya'll might remember that we booked our reception venue nearly sight-unseen while it was still basically in pre-construction. Yep. We put our wedding's fate into the hands of the amazing Nancy McEachern, the owner and event manager of Graystone Quarry, and I am SO HAPPY that we did. 

Less than six months ago, we walked through a concrete slab and some framing. When we drove up to our venue today, we saw this loveliness. 

The beautiful rock wall is all locally sourced from the quarry itself, as are a good many of the materials used in the building proper. As we went inside to do our first walk-through of the building in months, we got to see all the little details, and I could not have imagined or dreamed something more perfect if I had built it myself. 

The inside doors open up completely to allow our guests to enjoy the gorgeous view and Tennessee evening air. 

The bridal suite is just as lovely and will have five studio stations for hair and make-up! 

I feel like I was already excited enough for our wedding before I got to see the reception venue in person, but now that I've seen it, I'm just in cloud nine. I can really visualize how the day is going to look and play out now, and I can't wait to welcome our guests into such a lovely celebration space. Several people thought it was more than a little crazy to book a space that had not yet been built, but I'm so incredibly glad that we did.  

We also got to pick through Graystone Quarry's furniture and decorations to see what we might use for our ceremony and reception. They have an entire building full of furniture, antiques, and decor for their brides to choose from. My wedding planner has already been through once to set some things aside for me, but needless to say, I was like a kid in a candy store. 

Graystone Quarry offers 100 year old European farm tables and gorgeous chairs to their brides. We definitely said "yes!" to these and will be using lace runners instead of tablecloths to show off each table's uniqueness. 

We had a great time looking through Graystone's Quarry's decorations, but it wasn't quite over! Blue Mom had a wonderful friend with a ton of wedding decorations in storage that she offered to let us borrow. We visited to check everything out, and found everything from vintage lanterns to lovely table numbers.

It was a whirlwind day of wedding stuff, ending with a meeting with our videographer, and I am left feeling just a little bit overwhelmed. Thankfully, I am surrounded with tons of supportive people who are helping in every way they know how. It's about to get a little crazy, but I'm excited to keep you all posted on how things are going! 

Exhibit A: A couple who is more-than-a-little-bit relieved that their reception venue is nearly finished. <3

Did you take any big gambles during your wedding planning journey? How did it all work out?

*All photos personal

Rehearsal Dinner Recon

So one thing that took a surprisingly long time to nail down was a venue for our rehearsal dinner. My future mother-in-law has the reigns on the details of planning the rehearsal, but we have all been working together for months to find a good location. We had a few "musts" on our list.

1. Vegetarian Choices: We needed an option that would provide a delicious meal for all of our guests. Several places can offer a great meat option, but only provide salad and steamed vegetables for the non-meat eaters. This has happened to me too many times at weddings, and especially at rehearsal dinners, so I knew we did not want to subject our own guests to this.

2. Small-ish Space: While we could have easily gotten a hotel conference room or something, I really wanted a space that would be small and distinctive. It didn't have to match the feel of the wedding exactly, but I didn't want a space that would be too big for our relatively small guest list.

3. Hometown Flair: As we have gotten deeper and deeper into the planning of this shindig, it has become more and more important to Mr. Blue Moon and I to showcase our hometown and the Nashville area. We were looking for a venue that we have good memories in, that highlights locally produced ingredients, or showcases local art.

4. Proximity to Events: Our wedding ceremony and reception venue are both quite a bit out of town, but we still wanted to find something pretty close so as not to confuse our out-of-town guests or put anyone out of their way.

There are not a lot of restaurant options near our ceremony location. Via Google Maps.

Keeping all of these things in mind, we sat down together to brainstorm, and narrowed our options down.
 

 

Photo by Kristy S. from Yelp

Circa Grill is the one restaurant venue we really looked at in my hometown. It's about ten minutes away from our ceremony site, and has a wonderful and well-established reputation for delicious food. This totally adorable caboose is right across the street against a backdrop of beautiful Tennessee hill country. 

Via SeeMidTN on Flickr

The owner explained that he could do lots of different things for our rehearsal dinner meal, but it was basically going to be a meat and three, like house-smoked beef brisket, Southern cheese grits, grilled asparagus, and truffled mashed potatoes. For a vegetarian option, they had several pasta choices like butternut squash ravioli with brown butter sauce. 

Ravioli is one of my favorites! Photo by Circa via Yelp

This all sounded great, but I was still considering pasta for the wedding itself, and the inside of the place is also really dark. It was not exactly what I was looking for. 

 

The Red House by The Tennessean via Nashville Lifestyles

The Red House is a wedding and party venue directly off the town square in Mr. Blue Moon's hometown. It's about twenty minutes from the ceremony site, and features music paraphernalia and art from the local music scene. I think it's especially cool since we're so close to Nashville! 

 

 The inside entertaining space. Via Pinterest.

As much as I loved this space, we would be paying just to rent the space, and then still finding a caterer on top of that. I know that many people do rehearsal dinners this way, but it felt like a lot of work when we are already investing so much time into planning our wedding. 

At the point where we had already considered booking a venue and a separate caterer, we wondered if we should use Mr. Blue Moon's family's home. They have a lovely covered deck and great space to entertain. My future MIL put the idea on the table to have an I-Do-Barbecue, which would be super cute, with regular barbecue from a local Franklin joint and a vegetarian version from our favorite restaurant, The Sunflower Cafe.

Vegan barbecue with greens and garlic aioli from the Sunflower Cafe. Photo by Sivasa L. via Yelp. 

We were planning to offer sides like potato salad, vegan and non-vegan baked beans, cornbread, and a pie or cobbler for dessert. We also thought it would be fun to include yard games like cornhole toss or giant jenga! 

 

Photo by Esther Gibbons Photography

Ultimately, I could see how much work it was going to be for my inlaws to host the entire rehearsal dinner at their home. Since our rehearsal is the night before our actual wedding, I really didn't want to put any additional stress on Mr. Blue Moon's family before the big day. 

With that in mind, we went back to a restaurant off the square that I had originally considered for the wedding reception. The Franklin Mercantile has been a Franklin institution for many years, and I knew they could do amazing food and that the inside is super cute. If you didn't catch my post about the rehearsal venue, it looks like this. 

The owner decorates for events with string lights and small flower arrangements. Via Franklin Mercantile Deli on Facebook.

They will also do pretty cocktail tables outside. Via Franklin Mercantile on Facebook. 

I knew that this could be a great choice because it was one of the first venues I fell in love with, and also very reasonably priced. We get an adorable venue and a wonderful menu without worrying about working with two separate vendors, and since it's right off the square, people can feel free to go for a walk, grab a coffee, or hit the bars after the rehearsal. 

A great menu is planned and I am basically just as excited for this rehearsal dinner meal as I am for our wedding reception...which we may or may not get to eat, which is sad, because I love food. 

For the appetizers, there will be spinach dip, bruschetta, and shrimp scampi with toast points. For the main entree, guests will have a choice between burgundy steak, wine glazed salmon with red pepper chicken, or a stuffed portobello mushroom. Sides will include garlic mashed potatoes and honey green beans, and the desserts on offer will be heaven cake, peach cobbler, and banana pudding. Can you say "yum?" 

Wine glazed salmon, pictured here with asparagus and sweet potato pancakes. Photo by Amanda M. via Yelp. 

 Banana pudding cups. Via Franklin Mercantile Deli on Facebook. 

I can't wait to share this fabulous meal with family and friends, and most of all, my husband-to-be! 

What are you prioritizing as you search for a rehearsal venue? Were you mostly in charge of planning your own rehearsal dinner, or was someone else?  

 

 

 

 

Combining Households is an Adventure

Well hive, the long-awaited day finally happened last Saturday. No, not the wedding, but Mr. Blue Moon's graduation from college. It's an exciting day for anyone regardless of the surrounding circumstances, but this day was especially special for us because it marked the day we would finally kiss long-distance goodbye and combine our households in the same state, and even the same city, for good!

With the happy graduate! 

Mr. Blue Moon's lovely family. 

After the graduation ceremony was over, Mr. Blue Moon's family took us to lunch. When we got back to campus, it was totally empty. My wonderful future in-laws helped us pack up Mr. Blue Moon's dorm room (I won't miss that place!) and we all said our goodbyes. While they headed back to our hometown in Tennessee, the two of us found ourselves on an empty campus where we spent four years, facing a five hour drive back to Mississippi, and no idea what to do next.

Until this week, it's just been me plugging along by myself, visiting Mr. Blue Moon when I can, and enjoying his visits to Mississippi. There has never been a period of time that we were together without dreading the day we'd have to be apart again. So it feels great to know that we are done with the long distance thing forever. 

Living together makes everything feel special, and I wasn't expecting that. Even though we have been dating for six years, we're having a great time coming up with all our "firsts" under the same roof. First grocery list. First bottle of wine opened. First time watching TV on a couch that's in OUR house instead of MY house. It's fun. 

Of course, some things have been kind of difficult, but in a hilarious way. Right now, my home office is also functioning as a guest bedroom, but Mr. Blue Moon really wanted to hang his college degree the day after he moved in. I had to take down one of my paintings to make room, and I think that's when I realized that even small decisions like what to hang in a room are going to be made together.  Mr. Blue Moon also took one look at my shoe closet, and immediately went out to buy a shelf that's taller than I am to get it organized. 

This shoe rack changed my life. 

I think a large part of the fear we were experiencing upon Mr. Blue Moon's graduation was based on the fact that he did not yet have a job. With my housemate, Bridesmaid H, moving out, it was imperative for Mr. Blue Moon to find something solid so we can afford to stay in the same place. He interviewed with a company on Monday, and I'm proud to say that he landed it and will start as an animal hematologist in a national lab in early June. I'm so proud of Mr. Blue Moon! 

To any other young brides who have been facing some nervousness about how they're going to make it, I think it all tends to work out. Now that we are settling in and Mr. Blue Moon has a job, we can throw all our energy into the rest of the wedding planning. We're just about fifty days away now, so it's coming up fast! I can't wait to call this guy my husband. 

Just settling in with our two munchkins. 

Is your big move in together going to happen before or after the wedding? What's the hardest part about it?  

We Lucked Out: Finding our Photographer

Out of all the wedding expenses I knew we would have, the one I dreaded most was the photographer. Our dear friend took our engagement photos for us, but we want her to be able to kick back and enjoy the wedding- especially since her daughter is our flower girl! So the photographer research began. Looking at wedding photographers is what sold me on the fact that I have chosen the wrong career. They typically make more on a single wedding than I do in an entire month as a first-year teacher. But I digress- beautiful photos to last a lifetime is a top priority.

I know I love soft, romantic photography. The use of natural light is important to me since we are going to be surrounded by so much beautiful Tennessee countryside that I want to feature in the background of our pictures.

Photo by Teale Photography via Bridal Musings

Photo by Doerman Photography 

Our reception venue has so many beautiful outdoor locations, and I really wanted a photographer who will utilize the natural landscape. 

 A couple's engagement shoot at our reception venue, overlooking a lake. Photo by Leah Michelle Photography via Graystone Quarry

I was also looking for a photographer who would take beautiful candids, because I'm a sucker for sweet candid shots such as these. 

  Photo by Jessie Holloway Photography via MyWedding.com 

  Photo by Tausha Ann Photography

And finally, I wanted a photographer who can take dramatic, serious-looking shots. Mr. Blue Moon and I are about the least dramatic and serious people you can imagine, so getting this type of photo for posterity's sake is going to be a tall order, indeed. 

 Photo by Jessie Holloway Photography

 

Photo by Teale Photography via The Knot

 

 

I expected that finding a photographer to cover all these bases would be a tall order. I was talking to our wedding planner about my issues with finding a versatile photographer that was also affordable, and she suggested that we talk to Amilia James of Amilia Photography. Something rang a bell, and I quickly remembered that Amilia actually graduated in Mr. Blue Moon's high school class. I used to have study hall with her and one of my favorite teachers. I looked at some of her work, and boy was I impressed.

 

I loved all of her photos, and knew that she would be able to deliver exactly what we want. I reached out to Amilia and she explained her pricing structure to us. We decided to book her for the pre-festivities, the ceremony, and part of the reception. I think we will feel more comfortable with someone we have known for years, and I can't wait to work with Amilia on the day of the wedding. I'm already dying to get my hands on pictures for an event that hasn't even happened yet! 

How did you choose a wedding photographer?

We Finally Get Rid of These Invitations

Bees, you'll have to pardon my hiatus of a couple of weeks. My students' state testing started yesterday, and things are pretty crazy around here until next week. Then my job calms down and I will have time to blog my bridal heart out!

As you might recall, we ordered invitations about a month ago and Blue Mom, Mr. Blue Moon and I have been trying to find the time to get together and stuff them to get them ready for mailing. We settled on last weekend, and after furiously cleaning my house for a week, Blue Mom and Daddy Blue Moon arrived from Tennessee. I love having house guests, but this weekend was all business.

 

Blue Mom and I spread all of the stationary out across my kitchen table, and it sure looked overwhelming at first. I had put her in charge of handling everything wedding-related during the three weeks leading up to my students' state testing, and like me, Blue Mom tends to go overboard so that we have a lot of choices. We had lots of different envelopes and stamps to choose from, and different materials to tie up the invitations. 

 

We stuffed each invitation in the order you see here, following the traditional order of invitation, under reception insert, under reply card. We tied up everything with hemp twine for my rustic element, and to throw back to the kraft brown envelopes we used on my save-the-dates.  

It took a lot less time than I expected to tie all those bows and stuff every envelope! We got an assembly line going where I was tying and Blue Mom was stuffing in the envelopes. We did about a third of them on Friday night, and got up early on Saturday to finish the rest. I think it took about three hours total to finish everything. Mr. Blue Moon and Daddy Blue Moon were supposed to be helping, but ended up binge listening to our vinyl collection in the den instead. I guess boys will be boys! 

 

Instead of forking over for professional calligraphy, Blue Mom had a college acquaintance do it for half the price.  We chose lavender inner envelopes, and sealed them with matching labels. We ended up having A BUNCH of these little labels left over, so I'm thinking about putting them on our favors. 

 

The outer envelopes are ivory, and look like this with my lavender inners. We got envelopes from a local stationary store because I don't like the quality of Vistaprint's. 

Overall, I'm super happy with the way my invitations turned out. They feel customized to us without being over-the-top expensive. During the process, I learned a few things that I want to share with you all as you get ready to send out wedding invitations.  

1. Get Help: It would have taken double the time to stuff invitations if Blue Mom had not been around to help me with everything. 

2. Don't Try To Please Everyone: Vistaprint sent us several versions of my invitations free of charge to choose from because we were second-guessing the small font size. I stuck with my gut in the end even though there were a range of opinions and used my original choice. Make sure whatever you choose makes you and your partner happy! 

3. They Might Not Be Perfect: We had to add some names at the end, and Mr. Blue Moon addressed them in his best calligraphy. It bugs the crap out of me that my invitations aren't uniform, but the guests won't know the difference, and theirs will be that much more special for being addressed by the groom himself! I realized at some point that I was getting dragged down by these tiny details. Don't sweat the small stuff! 

4. Thank Your Helpers: Whether it's your fiance/fiancee, your parent, or your bridesmaids helping you handle invitations, make sure you thank them for their time spent. Blue Mom drove three and a half hours to do invitations with me, and I know it was boring work. I was able to take her to lunch on Saturday and spend some quality time together, so it felt like a  nice weekend even though some of it was spent working!

I will say that now that invitations have been mailed, this whole wedding thing finally feels like it's really, really happening! I have never been more excited for something, and I can't wait to share the rest of our details coming together. Mr. Blue Moon is here in Mississippi during a long lull in his final exams week, and we are saying "goodbye for now" for the last time tomorrow morning. He graduates on Saturday, and then he's moving in for good! I can't wait to have him around all the time! 

What kinds of exciting things do you and your partner have coming up? How did you feel when invitations went out? 

*All photos are personal