Save the Date and Invitation Preview...

Oh my GOSH!!! Tres and I are sending out the CUTEST Save the Dates ever!!! I am so excited about them I could scream!!!


Save the Date.... HANDKERCHIEFS?!?!? Yep, that's what all of our guests will be getting in the mail in the next few months. I have included a few examples of them, but ours will look much different than these. They will of course match our color scheme (gold and pink) and go with our theme (southern-vintage). I CANNOT wait to get them done and sent out so I can blog about them!!!

Also, we are getting custom-made invitations done, and the sample should be sent to me this week. I honestly believe we have one of the best graphic designers out there doing it too! I know this because I work with her on a daily basis, and I swear anything she ever sends to me for the website is almost jaw-dropping because it's like way better than I ever imagined it to be in my mind. After seeing her work, I don't even know if I could fathom the thought of anyone else doing them! I am 100% confident she will send me like the best invitation I have ever seen that matches perfectly with our theme... soooo exciting!

Steel Magnolias and Gents

It has been a long time coming, but we finally have a wedding party! We have officially asked all of our bridesmaids and groomsmen to be in the wedding. We both decided to do a formal invite – me mailing my bridesmaids one of my “crafts” and Tres asking his groomsmen with a bottle of wine from one of the wineries we went to in Napa Valley (Tres still has to give two of his groomsmen their gifts, but I couldn’t wait to post the blog)!

Paper Dolls with all hair just like my girls' hair! hehe!
The Invite (above)
The Reply Card (above)

Without further ado… here is our wedding party:

The Steel Magnolias
Stephanie Porter – Matron of Honor (childhood/high school friend of the bride)
Ginger Stewart – Matron of Honor (sorority sister of the bride)
Melissa Stokes – Maid of Honor (cousin of the bride)
Erin Hendricks (high school friend of the bride)
Sara Leach (sorority sister of the bride)
Amy Claire Smith (sorority sister of the bride)
Tracy Scott (sorority sister of the bride)
Lori Piety (adulthood friend of the bride and friend of the groom)
Renee Haralson (sister of the groom)

The Gents
JG Ketchen – Best Man (long-time friend of the groom)
Trevor Piety (long-time friend of the groom)
Mike Martinez (long-time friend of the groom)
Brandon Mize (long-time friend of the groom)
Joey Kaegi (college friend of the groom)
Steve Hines (college friend of the groom)
John Patrick (college friend of the groom)
Craig Hodges (college friend of the groom)
Randy Tatum (brother of the bride)

We wanted to do something special for our bridesmaids and groomsmen, so as you see in the pictures, we both made something special for each and every one of them! For my invite, I thought the paper dolls were a good idea because each of my girls would not only get invited to be in the wedding party via mail, but they could also immediately know who else I invited! The paper dolls took forever but the invite and reply card were pretty simple. For the invite, I wrote a personalized poem for each of my girls that referred to our friendship past, present, and future. The last line on the card in pink was on all my girls' cards. It says: "A Steel Magnolia is a southern woman who is strong and independent; yet very feminine. You are one of my Steel Magnolias." I thought of the Reply card idea because I needed my girls’ sizes and I wanted them to give me their take on Bachelorette party ideas and ideas for the wedding!

Bottles of wine with old pictures tied to them
The question card

The FRANK wine! haha!

Tres’ invite was all his idea… the only thing I helped with was the crafts part of it! After going to Napa Valley and visiting a winery that we loved, Frank Family Winery, Tres decided he would give all of his groomsmen a bottle of wine from there (his nickname is Frank, so that made the wine bottle even funnier). He got copies made of old pictures with his buddies, and attached a “Will you be my Groomsman?” card to it! We are so excited to announce our 18-member wedding party and can’t wait for all the festivities to begin with them!

My Something BLUE must be my SHOE!!!

Wow… it has been way too long since an update. I am really behind on wedding planning… my Knot To Do List is starting to yell at me through the computer screen. I have a good excuse though. First of all, it’s the beginning of the holidays and we all know how that goes. But second of all, I just got foot surgery about two weeks ago, and I have been laying low for a number of reasons. A) It hurts, B) Being started at by complete strangers because I can hardly put one foot in front of the other is one of the most awkward situations I have ever been in (for crying out loud…. Do people’s parents not teach them that staring is rude anymore?), and C) Do you know me at ALL?!?!?! If I’m not in heels, I don’t usually feel myself. My new slogan: “The higher my shoes… the higher my spirits!” …ESPECIALLY after being banned from them for three months. Yes, you heard me right… THREE MONTHS. I also cannot workout for three months, and if you know my obsession for heels, you also know my desire to work out at least 3-5 times a week. Needless to say, this situation is a disaster, but I will be kickin’ it again in no time. And when I finally am, those kicks will not be coming from just any pair of shoes!!!

Long before I had foot surgery, I decided that on my wedding day I wanted fancy shoes. Now, I am known for a fancy shoe here and there, and my closet is not hurting for them, but when I say fancy… I mean F-A-N-C-Y! I have always wanted a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes and have never bought myself a pair, so what better time to treat myself to a pair of them than after taunting foot surgery and for my wedding day!!! Aside from a shoe so exquisite, I would like for them to be BLUE! What better than for your SHOE to be your something BLUE on your wedding day! I have a pair in mind already (shown above), but they may be too tall. I always said a shoe could never be too tall, but I prefer to not tower over my future husband at our ceremony or for that matter, trip and fall down the aisle (oh dear!) So… the shoe search begins!!!

Did I mention after the wedding, I plan to ONLY wear the shoes every single year on our Anniversary date?! If that isn't special, I don't know what is!