Bridal Salons...One Apple

Photo Credit: Blue Orchid Blog

There's one place that every bride will end up at some point during the wedding planning process and that is..........a bridal salon. There are so many wonderful salons across each state, with dream gowns, sparkly tiaras, and smiles all over the place. Unfortunately, just like everything else, there can always be one bad apple that spoils the bunch. Here in Charlotte, one of the well known bridal salons has closed up shop, leaving several brides, both out of money and out of their dream wedding gown. For brides, it's not about the money, it's about the fact that many of these brides had found the dress that they were going to marry the man of their dreams in. Many of these brides have layed in bed at night picturing themselves walking down the aisle to their groom to say I do, and the people that should care, they don't! Please say a prayer for these brides because no bride would want to be in their place. There is enough stress just getting to the day. So, to all of the brides that this has affected in Charlotte, please know that we do care, and to the owner of the shop, who refuses to take calls from these brides and is hiding behind his sunglasses, shame on you!!

A New Friend

Photo Credit: The Wedding Planner

This past Thursday was my first Atlanta planning day in a while! I got up at 4am, in order to make the drive down to Atlanta and get some things done. My mom, being the wonderful mother that she is, took the day off, to be my right hand woman. I was so excited about the day that we had planned because it was all about making things happen and getting things done!! I was so excited to finally meet my planner!! She is exactly what I was looking for in a planner, and I am so excited that she will be taking care of things on my wedding day. There is nothing like feeling total confidence in the person that is going to handle your special day, and I totally feel that in my planner. She is everything that we were looking for. I think, most importantly, that your planner should become like a trusted friend because I feel that you will have that same confidence in them, as you would your BFF!! So, for any brides in the Atlanta area searching for a planner, feel free to shoot me an e-mail or message and I will be glad to "hook you up", with not just a planner, but a friend!!

It Is Here

Photo Credit: Style.com

After about 6 months, it is finally here!!! I am talking about my gorgeous wedding gown. I am so excited! Words cannot begin to describe. I wasn't sure how I would feel when the gown came in because you don't want to spend everyday contemplating its arrival. So, today was just perfect. As soon as I saw the name of the bridal salon on my phone, I new that my beauty had arrived. I can't wait to get together with my mother and try on my beautiful wedding gown. I am sure that there will be tears coming from everywhere. There is nothing that can really prepare you for this entire process, so the best thing is to just go with the flow and enjoy every single moment!! I am taking it all in and smiling, laughing, and loving each and every day!

50 Yard Dash

Photo Credit: Brides.com

Again, sorry for another delay.....I have been away in the great state of New Jersey taking a training course for work. The fabulous fiance and I are spending a weekend in New York City to take a break from wedding planning, house stuff, and to be honest, we just need some time together . However, I couldn't resist telling you about my 50 yard dash down the middle of Times Square! A girl will jump through hoops to get some goods for her blog. Yes I will!! So the fabulous fiance and I are walking through Times Square and standing right in front of us are a bride and groom, who were just married! She was so beautiful and they were so happy! It was written all over their faces. For once in my life, I knew exactly what it felt like to be the paparazzi!! I immediately grabbed my camera and took off in a crazy sprint, just to grab the photo. The fiance, by the way, was on the other hand, running along! Hehe!! And of course, I got it! The picture looks to be one of Sex In The City, but it was actually Takila In The City! I will post the few pictures that I got, when I get back home, but I couldn't resist sharing this story! We'll let the one above do for now. Just goes to show, that wedding planning, never ends! Even when you are on a mini vacation, you may wind up running through the middle of Times Square, trying to grab some special brides photo and loving every minute of it!!

Brides, Brides, Brides

I am in New Jersey this week for a meeting, and it is so refreshing to have girls to talk to about wedding stuff. Every other person seems to be either recently engaged, a few months away from their wedding, or a few months actually married!! I love it! To hear all of the bridal experiences, from all angles, is just great. I have talked to women who planned a wedding for 500+ people in 5 months, brides who just got back from the honeymoon of their dreams, and one gorgeous bride, who is going through all of this chaos, just because the man of her dreams wants his dream wedding. Sometimes we brides just need someone to listen and feel our pain. Sometimes we want someone to just understand what we are going through. And sometimes we want someone to understand the feeling of just saying, "Honey, let's just run off together and do this"! But then brings you back to reality because both of your moms would kill you!!

We Registered!

Photo Credit: Instyle Weddings

Today the fabulous fiance and I created our first wedding registry. Yay! I wasn't quite sure how the experience would go, but needless to say, it was a lot of fun! Of course, I ended up picking out the majority of things, with the fabulous fiance agreeing or reminding me that we already have one of those! :) There are so many places to choose from when creating a wedding registry, so it is best to take your time and register at a place that you really enjoy and a place that has lots of "wants and needs"!! While a lot of the stores will allow you to register online, it is absolutely worth it it to go with your fiance and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Check

Photo Credit: Instyle Weddings

There are so many wonderful resources out there for us brides. So many, that often times, it can become extremely overwhelming. You are always wondering what is the best, what will make this process easier, and which will not stress me out. Being a bride, that is planning an out of town wedding, it was so important to have a checklist that just really worked for me. I was really looking for something simple and organized, and I have found it.

If you are looking for a checklist that covers everything and really makes you feel stress free, please check our Russell Hazel Ideas. You will not be disappointed and you will save yourself, your mother, and your planner a lot of stress. So, enjoy checking all of those to dos off of your list. I sure have been.

Our First DIY

This week has been all about the engagement party invites. There are so many different invites out there, so you really have to have an idea of what you are looking for. I cannot begin to tell you just how many invitations I looked at, and including the ones that my mom looked at, I'd say we were batting a thousand. We are actually combining our housewarming and engagement party. Most of our family and friends live out of town, so we wanted to make things more convenient for them. I have been putting together invites all week and tomorrow I will be working on the inserts! Yay!! Funny thing is, after looking at all of the engagement party invites, we actually ended up creating our very own invite!! And they are so adorable! So, you can add our engagement party invites as our first DIY project!

Photo Credit: Wedding Paper Divas

Photo Credit: Wedding Paper Divas

Photo Credit: Fun & Sassy Designs

Photo Credit: Fun & Sassy Designs

Photo Credit: Wedding Paper Divas

What An Amazing 4th

Words can not begin to describe what an amazing 4th of July weekend we had. It was so fantastic to have our family in Charlotte, for the weekend, celebrating the 4th of July and spending time with one another. We had several things planned, on a to do list, for the wedding, however, those plans quickly got cancelled, due to all of the fun that we were all having. We did however, get our engagement party invites printed, thanks to my mom. They are so cute. I can't wait to share them with you. This weekend really reinforced one thing for me, and that is the fact that all you really need around you is your family. They will love you no matter what, and will support your life and love with the man of your dreams

Champagne Cheers

One of the things that we have recently made a decision on is our linens. This was the first appointment that the fabulous fiance was really involved in "hands on"!! Being that the colors of our wedding are very neutral, with ivory and champagne being the main colors, we wanted to stick with that same concept for our linens. A lot of times, you can really over do it in the space, and we don't want to take away from the beautiful details and color that the Biltmore has. We decided to go with a champagne linen for the reception. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one. The color is perfect and it looks so elegant on the table. And to top it off, the fabulous fiance was totally in agreement! Yay!! We have a little something different for the cocktail hour, but please look for our inspiration throughout the entire wedding. One thing is now checked off of the list..........Only a million more to go!! Cheers.