Happy 4th of July! and other good news...

Happy 4th of July everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my first couple of posts. I'm still getting used to the idea of keeping a blog and haven't yet gotten into the habit of posting regularly, especially when life gets busy! Right now Adam and I are in Pittsburgh, visiting my parents for the holiday, and I have some downtime before our bbq this afternoon, so I figured I'd update. As of my last post, Adam and I were days away from a six day long vacation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Well our vacation was amazing and the best news of all, we came back engaged! Adam and I had gone to look at rings back in February but I was under the impression that a proposal was still at least 6 months away, so needless to say I was very surprised. Anyway, my ring is BEAUTIFUL and I couldn't be more excited! In the meantime, I've been quite the busy bee starting to plan the wedding, which will be in a couple years. Yes, it's early, but anyone who knows me knows quite well that I'm a planner and I like to have things "figured out". So some of the preliminary details are such:

1. We want a relatively small (100 people or less), non-religious, outdoor spring wedding. So far I'm narrowing down a list of gardens, country clubs, etc. that will accommodate an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception where we can party until midnight or later.

2. Try as I might, I cannot resist the siren call of pink as my primary wedding color. Adam and I agreed that a dark raspberry pink is nice but not as girly, and I like that it'll be more flattering on my attendants. Right now I'm leaning toward bright oranges/yellows/purples as accent colors for flowers, centerpieces, etc.

Flower inspiration:


I also really love something like this for the bridesmaids:


I love the color and the soft chiffon fabric.

Got cake? I really like this:


Or this:


As for my dress, I'm still all over the map. Just when I have it narrowed down to a short list of dresses I like enough to want to go try on, the stores/designers release new styles that I like even more. Right now I'm leaning towards strapless or one-shouldered with an a-line cut. I like rouching on the bodice for it's appearance and figure flaw hiding capabilities. I'm leaning towards pick-ups in the skirt but I probably won't know if those will work for me until I see them on... I definitely don't want to look like I'm wearing a giant down-comforter on my wedding day! I may have to make a separate post sometime in the future centered on the dress alone. :)

3. The atmosphere will be as casual as can be. We want everyone to be relaxed and comfortable.
This means no formal tuxes, a slightly less formal dress (ie, no huge veil, train, etc.), short bridesmaids dresses, etc. It also means a more casual menu. We definitely want a buffet but we're leaning more towards bbq, fried chicken, burgers, etc. rather than a fancy sit-down dinner.

4. We're probably going to write our own vows, for multiple reasons. Mostly I don't want to have the same cookie-cutter wedding as everyone else, but also because we aren't religious, so traditional vows & a reading of 1st Corinthians, etc. just isn't "us". I know it's going to be a little more work and a little more stress to design vows and a ceremony that are more personal, but I know it'll be worth it in the long run.

For now, that's as far as I've gotten. We're probably going to start looking for a venue sometime later this summer, since the date and location are the first two details that need to be set in stone. Once we have that, we can start looking for an officiant, caterers (if needed), photographer, etc. and I can start looking for my dress and the girls' dresses. In the meantime, I'll be trying a little harder to keep posting on here regularly and I promise it won't be all wedding planning all the time! Hope everyone is having a fantastic 4th!