Finding Joy in the Stress of Wedding Planning!

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We’re less than 3 weeks out from our BIG day and I promised that I wouldn’t turn bridezilla on you. I can’t promise that I’ve kept that promise so here’s to sharing all my ups in the hopes of preventing all the break-downs!

I wouldn’t say that planning a wedding is fun necessarily, unless your idea of fun surrounds endless lists of to-do’s, spending an obscene amount of money on the raddest party of your life (okay that actually sounds fun), and making decisions you didn’t even know mattered. But you can find joy in the stress of wedding planning I promise!

Of all the decisions I’ve had to make and all the choices I’ve had to choose from, hands down the most fun part *besides picking out my wedding dress and marrying my best friend* has been the center piece making, and thank you cards/stationary creating!

 

I mean how magical are these Basic Invite thank you cards <3 Complete with our wedding colors in artistic subtle splashes and this simple yet classic script, I can’t wait to personalize these babies. Could there be gold glitter involved? We shall see 😉

What I enjoyed most was taking the time to pick out every detail from our color combination, to the specific slate grey I wanted for the writing. The Basic Invite site offers you an instant preview so I was able to play around with the design to try and match them to our stationary until they were exactly what we wanted.

We went with champagne envelopes of which they printed the names and addresses on for us (absolutely do this and save your grip for those honeymoon pina coladas! I mean, it’s FREE!) and I even got us ‘eternity’ stamps for the mail. We cute!

 

Although you wouldn’t be able to tell with the muted envelopes I chose, there are over 40 different color envelopes for your musings. Unfortunately for me, we found this service too late in our wedding planning game to order wedding invitations from them, but luckily for you I’m here to share!

Their wedding invitations are a part of a set and with their ‘try before you buy’ policy, they allow for a custom sample to be sent to you so, win win! Everything from Save The Dates to wedding programs and matching thank you cards (ahem me!) are available and they make it uber convenient with their free address collection service. I’ve thrown the word ‘free’ around a lot in this post but hey, if the shoe fits . . . get it in every color.

I’m so excited for these next few weeks to fly by so that I can wrap up all of our final plans, I leave on the 23rd which is in TWO weeks! TWO! So if you’re in the midst of wedding season like myself, than I hope this post helps you to find some joy in the hustle and bustle of it all and inspires you to get creative when it comes to dreaming up your first impressions as husband and wife.

Take some time to breath and get back to what really matters, which is marrying your person, but also to find joy in the stress of it all – they say we work best under pressure anyway! Also that’s for me to re-read and apply for myself 😉

Are you a stationary or personalized thank you card kind of person? Would you prefer to design your own table place cards and menus or are you like me and you’d rather click it, print it, and move on with it? 

 

 

SAY YES TO THE DRESS – ALL 3 OF THEM! #BrideGuide

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YES GIRL, all three of them! I mean, who says you can only have one dress on your special day?! Okay yes, I did actually, buuut I hadn’t seen the other two to KNOW that I NEEDED them! lol

So there will be three dresses happening, but only because of the rehearsal at the chapel (you HAVE to wear a dress for this yes?) and then the 4th of July tiki-themed backyard after party. Whoa, that’ll be my new hashtag ha #4thofJulytikithemedbackyardafterparty 😀

My wedding dress I won’t reveal here just because, surprises, but the other two I’m sharing because it’s so fun to share the process of it all (and Joe’s seen these two). I’ve just been so overwhelmingly excited for all of this! I also did so much trying on of the dresses and online shopping where 183 dresses were sent to me! Really only 1 or 2 make the cut but I learned so much along the way. So for the backyard after party I went with this beautiful blush tulle Vera Wang dress, it looks taupe in photographs but the details of the dress are so delicate and it’s not heavy and doesn’t tug or pull. Since we’re having a mid summer wedding in MARYLAND (hello humidity!), I knew I wanted something light and that I could move and dance in, but still feel like a bride in. Oh I WILL be stretching out this entire day until midnight 😉



If this location looks familiar it’s because it is. When Corriney and I decided to have our picnic date I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to photograph this beauty outside since that’s where it’ll dance the night away anyway. I really love that it’s flowy in the wind but didn’t blow up over my bum (that’d be a disaster on my wedding day when alcohol is involved), and the sweetheart neckline is concealing enough for my busty self and has just the right amount of femininity and subtlety.

It’s midi length and didn’t require any alterations hallelu! You can find this dress at David’s Bridal and lucky for you, it’s on sale right now, gogogo – lots of deals happening right now! #thankyouweddingseason The blush pink earrings you can create at Kendra Scott, and the stunning sash is from BHLDN (also where I got THE dress yeee!)

For the rehearsal I wanted to feel classy and sexy, like “oh la la, look at me I’m a bride to be”! So I went with this Parker dress that has the most beautifully flattering neckline. It’s beaded, knee length, dainty, and SPARKLY!  Just a sneak peek of it but I promise to spam everyone with photos of it once I wear it!

Of course I’ve saved shoes for last, they’re a big deal I get it! One thing I almost overlooked and I’m sure a lot of brides do also, is how LONG we’ll be wearing them! Most fancy shoes aren’t created for comfort, I mean no pump will ever be as comfortable as a flip flop- but I’ve found a solution! After a ton of googling “most comfortable shoes on your wedding day”, I came across these insoles from Vivian Lou. They’re designed by a podiatrist and engineered by a ROCKET SCIENTIST . . . like wuuut.

They shift your weight allowing for a more “equal distribution of weight between the forefoot and heel”. It’s science people, I don’t know. And they also prevent your foot from slipping forward, so like why don’t I have these in every single pair of shoes that I own! These will be in my wedding shoes, my dancing shoes, and any shoe that was created for a more narrow foot and not these coconut-tree-climbing feet I have.

Splurging on a rockin’ pair of heels for your wedding day is pretty epic, but I think comfort far outweighs any bling that catches my eye. Only thing I have to find now is some kind of slip or undergarment that will allow me to dance the day/night away without sweating like a sailor.

I found some pretty incredible deals while searching high and low for all the perfect wedding day details, so just remember to be patient, do your research, and never be afraid to DIY the hell outta everything. Except your veil, if you’re like me than you absolutely, definitely do not want to DIY that.

Ah yes, my beautiful Corriney who was also photographer/ set designer/ flower child/ and fellow lover of loafs on this day! After photos we had a nice lil picnic together and hiked back to the car full of bread, cheese, jams, and watermelon. If you missed my post on things to do with the fam bam including this picnic, you can peep it here <3

I hope you enjoyed this article and are loving this #JessBrideGuide series! I’m having so much fun sharing all of the things I’m going through along the way leading up to our I do’s with you <3

Have you ever used insoles like the ones I’ve featured here? Did you have more than one dress on your wedding day? Am I turning into a bridezilla?! #dontanswerthat