our wedding day | the first look

During the beginning stages of wedding planning, I was torn between wanting to have a first look and waiting until I walk down the aisle to see Ryan's face for the first time. 

I was chatting with a good friend who used to do wedding videography, and she told me about how the tradition behind seeing the bride for the first time during the ceremony is actually not romantic at all. It stems from arranged marriages, when the groom had no idea who was going to be underneath the veil, and at the risk of the bride being "ugly," the family didn't want the groom to run away. Ha! Long story short, not super romantic. Even though it's now used as a way to catch the groom's initial, immediate reaction, we wanted those moments all to ourselves.

Enter: the first look.

With a 6 o'clock ceremony time, our plan was to wrap up makeup by 2:30, take bridesmaids photos in our robes, and be at the venue for our first look by 3:30. By 2:45, one of the stylists was still touching up the bridesmaids' hair...and they didn't finish until 3:30. I don't think I initially realized just how behind we were, which was probably a good thing. 

Skipping the minutiae, we still had plenty of time for our first look. I had more of a "first" first look than Ryan, because I pulled up in our party bus as he was walking down the stairs of our venue. I was so excited to see him, but I feel like I look nervous in the initial picture below...likely because I was nervous. And looking back on some of these, I think it looks a bit like I'm posing for them. Whoops. Guess I won't quit my day job and become a model, after all.

our wedding day: getting ready

On October 12, 2019, I woke up thinking, "it's finally here - my wedding day." Nearly 500 days since Ryan proposed, we were about to get married on the six year anniversary of our first date, just steps away from the popular Italian restaurant where Ryan and I shared awkward but charming get-to-know-you banter while I had spinach in my teeth.

For getting ready, it was important to me for us to have enough natural light for photos. I'd looked into nearby AirBnBs, but I really wanted to be central to everything and everyone else in the hotel block, so I opted to book a suite at the hotel. With two beds, a couch, and a little balcony, we had plenty of room to spread out and get ready. Most importantly, we had a small kitchenette to suffice our snacking needs throughout the day.

One of my bridesmaids, Stephanie, stayed in the hotel room with me the night before, and it wasn't long before hair and makeup knocked on our door at 8:45 a.m. to start setting up. I began to set up plastic champagne flutes, Trader Joe's apple cider donuts, and pancake bread for my bridesmaids and family, though we didn't actually pop any bubbly until about 10ish (likely for the best!). My bridesmaid Jaime's husband scooped us up Starbucks + brought in our Publix lunch (popcorn fried chicken nuggets, sandwiches, and fruit)...talk about a life saver.

Before long, all six of my bridesmaids + my mom and mother-in-law were in the thick of getting ready. Robes and gifts had been distributed, and everyone was dressed in dusty green florals. The room smelled of hairspray, Lizzo blasted through a "beer can" speaker, and every five minutes someone mentioned "I can't believe it's finally here!"

I was so excited to get ready alongside my girlfriends - it's a big reason why I had a larger amount of bridesmaids. I couldn't imagine not getting ready with everybody, and I really wanted cute robe photos (because, duh). In truth, we were a little bit behind schedule. Everyone else's hair and makeup touchups went about an hour late, which cut into our "getting ready" photo time and made everything feel a little bit rushed at the time. By the time everyone was finished, I was already supposed to be at the venue doing my first look with Ryan. I tried not to let it stress me out, and ultimately, it didn't. I think that's what makes every wedding day unique - the unplanned twists and turns and mishaps always make for good stories.

Even so, we got a lot of great "getting ready" photos, thanks to our wonderful photographer, Emily Mathewson. If you're in Florida (or even if you're not!) I highly recommend her. She did an outstanding job, and I feel like I gained a friend in the wedding planning process!

And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't share some "getting ready" photos from Ryan's side of the day. He looked so handsome! I felt like one lucky bride...and I suppose that now I'm one lucky wife!

I'll be sharing more in the coming weeks! Be on the look out for our first look, the ceremony, and reception pictures. I can't believe this day has already come and gone, and I love revisiting it.

post wedding + honeymoon ramble.

WHAT IS UP, FRIENDS.

This is the first time I've actually sat down with the intention to write a blog post in a long, long time. I've thought about it. I've wanted to do it. I've had things to write about, as much has gone on in the last two months since I've posted. But here we are, nearly halfway through November, and while I've never felt so disconnected from this space, I'm going to attempt to find my flow. And we all know that any good flow begins with a disorganized ramble, so let's begin.

+ We got married on October 12, 2019, exactly six years after our first date. Months and days and hours of planning behind us, we finally had our wedding day at our dream venue on a beautiful night, surrounded by family and friends. It wasn't perfect - there were things I wish I remembered to do, things I wish I had done differently, things that went wrong - but the majority of it was perfect, for us. Much, much more to come on this topic!

Photos by Emily Mathewson Photography

+ We honeymooned on Kauai (in Hawaii) for six days. OH. MY. GOD. SWOOOON. Kauai has our hearts forever. It likely changed us forever. It's the kind of place where you feel so far removed from your usual hustle and so enamored by nature that you either, a) forget who you are a little bit, or b) find who you are a little bit. 10/10 recommend. If Hawaii has only "kinda sorta"been on your bucket list, move it up to the top.

Photos by Julia Kathleen Photography

+ We are in the process of buying our first house together. Well, we are in the very early stages, but we finally secured a real estate agent, and we're scoping out neighborhoods with purpose. I love our cute little apartment in the middle of everything, but I do not love our neighbors, and I do not love our lack of backyard and closet space. We're ready to move on up and out!

Hopefully you'll see a bit more of me around these parts. Now that I'm done with wedding planning, I'm itching to get back into a hobby - more specifically, writing. Love you, mean it.

the summer i spent planning a wedding

I'd like to say that I've been relishing in the slowness of summer, but that would be a lie. I haven't thrown a hamburger patty on the grill (or watched anyone else do it, for that matter) or spent a full day on the beach sans lightning bolts and downpours.

what's up with the wedding? vol. 3

If you'd like to catch up, here are the links for volume 1 and volume 2.

At this point in our engagement, I'm constantly getting asked, "how's wedding planning going?" 

Usually the question is prefaced with or followed by a statement along the lines of "sorry, it's probably annoying to answer that all the time," but truthfully, I'm enjoying the process. It's crazy to think that our big day is just about four months away! I think starting a new job has made it feel like the year is flying by, and this wedding is going to be here before we know it. We're already less than 100 days away and we've been engaged for just over a year. AH! Here's where we're at now:

our engagement photos!

A couple months ago, we got to meet our wedding photographer, Emily Mathewson, and take our engagement photos! Despite having been a blogger for years on end, I've never actually had a professional photo shoot, so I had no idea what to expect. Thankfully, Emily put us right at ease. She was super laid back, and even rolled with the punches when there was a giant event happening at our original shoot location and we couldn't find a single parking spot. Daylight burning, I was getting frantic, but she was cool as a cucumber. Within 10 minutes, we were parked and ready to roll.

(outfit details: some affiliate links used, which means i make a few cents if you purchase an item, at no additional cost to you). 

Outfit wise, I had a general idea of what I wanted to wear, which was both a blessing and a curse. Since I had something specific in mind, nothing I came across in stores and online quite measured up to the make-believe photo shoot outfits I had drafted up in my head. I was hoping for a floral wrap dress, which I thought would be pretty easy to find, but I couldn't find the "right" one. Sigh...first world problems. I ended up ordering this super popular dress from Lulu's in wine red for my "fancier" outfit, and scooped up this crop on sale. My jeans weren't on sale, but they are hands down the best high-waisted pair I've ever tried on. I'm generally a size 4-6, depending on the brand and fit, with a curvier booty and tummy, and these fit right over my hips perfectly.

I considered a whole bunch of photo shoot locations, but we ultimately decided that where we had our first kiss/where we got engaged felt the most sentimental and like "us." We had lunch for our first date at an Italian restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida called Bella Brava, and had our first kiss just a few steps down the street. Thus, we chose Bayshore Drive and North Straub Park for our photos. Despite the rapidly setting sun, our photographer, Emily Mathewson, was able to get some incredible shots, and we are so happy with the results!

Note: lots and lots of photos to follow! Nowhere near all of them, but just some of our favorites.

All photos taken by Emily Mathewson - Website | Instagram

Can't wait to marry this guy in just 264 days!