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!

The Never-Ending China Debacle

The two china patterns we picked out! Now we just have to narrow it down (and make sure this is exactly what we want)! I'm pretty sure Tres is going to refuse to look at anymore china though! :)

This past weekend, Tres and I gave registry shopping a go. Without actually registering for anything, we walked around several potential registry shops to get an idea of what we would be registering for and what “style” of dinnerware we wanted to go with. Ok, let me rephrase that… I drove Tres crazy all day Saturday trying to decide if we should register for casual dinnerware or china.

After walking around the china section for about an hour, leaving the store, and going home… four hours later I was still talking about what we should get, six hours later I was goggling the differences between casual dinnerware and china, and eight hours later, I was asking everyone’s advice on Facebook. I think Tres was ready to get rid of me! I gave him the whole spill of “We can’t think present tense… we have to think future tense! We will be eating on this the rest of our lives, we may want to pass this down to our children, etc.” Needless to say, Tres HATES china now. I don’t even think he ever wants to look at it again, and on top of it all, he must think that he has an obsessive compulsive fiancé now! Haha!

After all that, and even though most people told us not to do it because they never use theirs, we decided to go with china.
1) Tres made a good point that we already have very nice casual dinnerware. Almost a year ago, for no reason at all, I bought BEAUTIFUL Tracy Porter casual dinnerware that we have never even used (really because I am terrified to put food on anything that gorgeous… not sure how I am going to deal with people eating on the china… haha).
2) Tres picked out the two most beautiful Vera Wang china patterns that I couldn’t help but love. At first, he acted like he didn't have an opinion, but I told him that I wanted him to be just as involved in the dinnerware decision making as I was, so after dragging him around the china section, he told me those two patterns were his favorite. Luckily, I agreed!

One thing I learned from our registry hunting experience: we are very lucky because we already have A LOT of the basic stuff that most people don't have when they go to register. Tres is 31 years old and has been on his own for a LONG time now :), and there is a lot of stuff I have bought since I have been on my own, so there will be tons of everyday items we don't even have to register for, so it only makes sense for us to go ahead and get the china!

P.S. Thanks to all my Facebook friends that responded to my post about the china!!! I need all the advice I can get from the already married! :)

Armosa Studios - Our Photographers!

Its official… we signed the contract, sent in the deposit, and we now have photographers - photographers that are out-of-this-world!!! Sure we are from Memphis and getting married in New Orleans, yet we hired photographers from FLORENCE, ALABAMA! It may not make sense… UNTIL you see the work these people do. Then, it’s quite obvious why we chose these guys to take our pictures… they are amazingly talented and so worth getting from all the way in AL! An additional plus is they are married and seem to be just as awesome of a couple as they are photographers, so we are stoked!

I told Tres as soon as we started wedding planning that photography was ranked #1 on my wedding priority list, so we set out looking for the best, and I think we found them! I had actually seen these guys’ work before Tres and I even got engaged, and I was convinced that when Tres and I got married, we would have to consider them. Their "Vogue/GQ/Vanity Fair" photography style has us so excited to be models for a day… haha! We can’t wait to meet and work with them!

They are Armosa Studios! Check out their work on their website: http://armosastudio.com/index2.php?v=v1

Dear Weather, Please don’t give the bride a heart attack!

(Above: what we DON'T want NOLA to look like on October 17, 2010)

Well, it’s November which means our wedding month is over until next year, and I am already stressed about the month we picked because I have never seen so much rain in my entire 25 years of living!!! Seriously, half the reason we chose October is because it’s supposed to be the nicest month for weather in New Orleans. So, while the monsoon came down here in Memphis all month, I drove myself crazy by checking the weather forecast for New Orleans WEEKLY! Let me just tell you… the weather was no better in the Big Easy – rain just about every single day. But like Tres said to me: “Better it rain every day this year than that one day next year.” (Soooo positive… just one of a million reasons I love him so!)

Our venue is not made for a rainy wedding, and I swear if the day of our wedding it rains, I will DIE… D-I-E… DIE!!! So, please start praying now for good weather on October 17, 2010 in New Orleans! Like I told Tres… we have an entire year to pray. And, if it happens to rain in New Orleans October 17, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. start praying that the bride doesn’t drop dead!

Happy -1 Year Anniversary!

Last Saturday was a very special day… a day we will celebrate for the rest of our lives! The morning of October 17, 2009, Tres and I woke up and begin celebrating our negative one year anniversary!

When we officially booked our date with Southern Oaks in September, they congratulated us with a bottle of “Southern Oaks” personalized champagne! It was adorable, and when we got it, we decided we would drink it on day when we had exactly a year until our wedding. That morning, we popped open the bubbly and mixed it with orange juice for Mimosas! I cooked French Toast and we had a great brunch, while watching the movie “Sideways.”

It was a lazy, casual day. After our movie over brunch, we took naps. That night, we went to a Grizzlies game and did a little bar hopping after that. It was a perfect -1 year anniversary. And now that it’s over it means… WE ARE OFFICIALLY GETTING MARRIED IN LESS THAN A YEAR!!!!

Our visit to Southern Oaks (September 21, 2009)

What you see online is what you get with this place. No, actually it’s way better in person. We had some friends get married in Destin, Florida a week after we booked Southern Oaks, so we decided on the way home from Destin to take the 4 hour drive over to New Orleans and go ahead and knock out actually seeing the venue we put A LOT of money down for!

We had one of the wedding coordinators show us around the place and answer all of our questions. After looking at the place and seeing how much more charming and beautiful it is in person, we sat down with the coordinator and signed contracts. She gave us a “Southern Oaks” folder that included all the information we needed to know, what forms to mail in, and where to be when – it was all very organized and simple – just how we like things. Of course, Tres, being the business-minded man he is, commented on their business structure and how they presented everything very well. He said, “They know what they’re doing.” :) If Tres approves on their business, I APPROVE!
Here’s why we LOVE Southern Oaks:

1) It’s all-inclusive. The ceremony and reception are both held there with the reception including a 75-item entrée and h’ordeuvres menu as well as a full-open bar with beer, wine, champagne, liquor, daiquiris, and Specialty drinks. Not to mention, the food and drinks are served throughout the entire reception.

2) It’s so Southern! It looks like Tara straight out of Gone with the Wind. It will be the perfect backdrop for a lady and gentleman!

3) VIP treatment. Right after the ceremony, as guests head into the ballroom for food, drinks, and dancing, the wedding party heads into the “wedding party room.” This room is roped off for just the wedding party, and we have our own bar to toast, chat for a minute, etc. After a toast, the wedding party leaves the bride and groom and we have a “private dinner,” where food is brought out to us to enjoy before we head out for all the hugs and congratulations from the guests. I, personally, have heard of many brides and grooms not even getting to eat the food at their own reception, so I like that we get a little moment of our own before being introduced and having our first dance.

4) The night ceremonies are TOO DIE FOR. And, we have decided on a night ceremony. They light up the plantation home with candles and spotlights – it’s gorgeous!

5) The food. I have read several reviews on the food served here and have heard it’s some of the best anyone has ever had at a wedding. I also spoke with some local New Orleans friends we have, and they said the same thing!

6) The service – We will have a full-wait staff for our wedding. This includes food servers for each section of the ballroom, cake servers, bartenders, chefs, and a wedding coordinator. And the best part? Tres will have his own personal attendant, I will have my own attendant, and our parents will have their own, so if we need anything at all throughout the night – they will be there for us!

We have to lock down a date!

Sure, we hadn’t even seen the place in person, but we were pretty certain Southern Oaks was it for us. I immediately contacted them, got available dates from Sept-Nov, and sat down with Tres to decide on a date. Here was the bottom line when choosing a date: 1) try to also avoid hurricane season. 2) TENNESSEE VOLS football schedule as well as other important college football games in 2010.

The first thing Tres did was take out the Vols football schedule and got to work! He marked off the weekends with the biggest games and started searching for a possible “off” weekend. He found one the weekend of Oct. 16-17 was an off weekend, so we decided then and there that was our weekend, with October 17 being the date! We also looked at the LSU schedule as well, and so far, it’s an off weekend for them too – perfect!

Even though we had plenty of time to think about it, we didn’t want to take our chances - we really wanted to get a date locked down so no one could take it from us! Without hesitation, Tres called Southern Oaks and booked our date. That week, we mailed in our deposit and just hoped we actually liked the place in person. I never in a million years thought I could be so sure of a place without seeing it in person, but there was something about this place I knew was OURS!

Southern Oaks Plantation = the perfect venue for us!

After only a week of being engaged, I had already put a tremendous amount of thought into our wedding. To explain, I am pretty much obsessed with party and event planning and love to do it in my spare time – it’s really one of the only hobbies I have, so for a girl like me to get to plan an event as big as a wedding, this is like a dream come true. I promised Tres I wouldn’t drive him crazy, and he said he wants to be involved in the planning as much as possible, so I am grateful for that!

The idea/theme I have in mind is something like Southern-Vintage with a modern splash. Since Tres and I are both from the South, and we are having a New Orleans wedding, I thought a “southern” focus would be a great one, so when I ran across Southern Oaks Plantation online, I knew that was where we had to get married. It is the epitome of Southern – a huge Antebellum home with green grass and flowers surrounding it, a fountain it front of it, and a horse and carriage!

I tried my hardest after seeing this place to look at ALL of our New Orleans venue options, and while I picked out a few “maybes,” I knew if Tres liked Southern Oaks, that would be where we had to get married. Sure enough, I sent him a list of options, and Southern Oaks was IT for him. He loved how the ceremony and reception are all in one place, as well as the all-inclusive catering and full open bar Southern Oaks has to offer! After we fell in love with the place, we got to planning!