nesting

back from the honeymoon and fam vaca with my (brand new!) family, i'm in nesting mode! i've been scouring pinterest for images, and the above room has me hooked. our small room doesn't have nearly enough natural light, so i'm finding creative ways to make the room appear brighter. anyone have any suggestions?

we are also in the market for a few essential furniture pieces. i've been frequenting circa and perusing etsy for antiques. i'd love to hear any suggestions you may have! i found this beautiful vintage natural wood desk a year ago, and i adored it so much we used it at the wedding for our guest book table.

i can't wait to share more of the wedding and honeymoon with you all. i'm not able to publish wedding photos yet, so honeymoon may come first!

thanks for sticking with me, readers.

Easton in The Knot

We are in The Knot Summer 2011! It was so exciting to see these images in print! We partnered with BHLDN to style these gorgeous tablescapes, Pat's Floral Designs provided the blooms, and Rock, Paper, Scissors designed all the printed materials. All of the photos here by Jen Fariello. I love all the details! So fun and fresh.

Charlottesville Free Wedding Project

i am so excited to announce a really sweet project i will be working on with Easton. we will be coordinating a wedding this fall through the Charlottesville Free Wedding Project! we are now accepting submissions for brides-to-be in cville. the chosen bride will receive an absolutely exquisite wedding - all. for. free!

if you are a bride-to-be or would like to nominate a bride-to-be, please keep reading for all the fabulous details!

The winning couple’s wedding will take place at picturesque King Family Vineyards in Crozet, Virginia nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville. Nationally recognized event coordinators of Easton Events will provide day-of-event coordination, and your caterer will be Mark Hahn and Harvest Moon Catering. Carpe Donut and Gearhart’s Chocolates will be taking care of desserts and favors. Face Value Studio & Salon is going to make the bride look beautiful and the talented photographers Sarah Cramer, Jen Fariello, and Jack Looney will document the event. Rock Paper Scissors is creating the special paper items and both Pat’s Floral Designs and Floral Images will work together to provide the floral designs. DJ Derek Tobler will emcee the event, Blue Ridge Light Forms is once again enhancing the ambiance, and Albemarle Vintage Limousine is offering vintage transportation for the couple.

i am so excited to see this wedding happen for one special couple. i mean, look at all those amazing vendors! to submit your story, please go here.

new digs!

i'm officially a week into my new job and am having a wonderful time! thanks for all the encouraging words last week! where am i working, you ask? i've been given the great privilege of working for Easton Events, a premier event planning firm. i am beyond thrilled. we handle mostly weddings and some corporate events in the mid-atlantic region and every single one is simply stunning. it's quite ironic timing given my wedding is in just two short months, but c'est la vie!

i feel so blessed to be part of a hard-working team of creative women. i will try to throw in some Easton happenings on this blog from time to time; in the meantime, check out their fabulous portfolio!

though i may update this blog a bit less, you will be able to see me blogging pretty often for Easton here.

happy weekend!

whew! we made it. friday, how i love you. i hope you find yourself drinking good wine and laughing often this weekend. i hope to do the same!

m & i are beginning the house hunt. my one requirement: a bathtub. this photo above is why.

have you been following jamie's journey through new york fashion week? love her take on grace kelly.

mmm. trying this recipe this weekend?

this photo. ah. missing summer like mad.

how awesome is this coat rack?

this wedding is ah-mazing. a picnic reception and a ceremony at sunset! tons of details and yet the whole event seems understated and relaxed.

cup of the day

happy thursday! we've almost made it to the weekend. i had a fabulous morning meeting with lucy of Lucy O Photography! lucy has been doing a 'cup of the day' series of photos in which she photographs local cville folks drinking their morning brew (a mocha in my case! i know... not technically coffee but the whipped cream was irresistible). i met lucy at Mudhouse. i was a little nervous to be in front of a camera so early in the morning but it was actually really fun (look at how beautifully the photo turned out - that's not me; it's all lucy's photog skills!). i can hardly believe lucy and i haven't met before as we have so many friends and interests in common. i totally spent almost the entire time we were together picking her brain for cville wedding tips - she had a ton!

if you're a bride in need of a photographer, check out lucy. she is incredibly warm and will certainly put you at ease (bonus: she was just a bride herself a few months ago! congrats, lucy!).

BHLDN bridesmaids

wow.

that first dress. wow. might have to make an appearance at my wedding.

if you're not in the know yet, BHLDN is anthropologie's wedding line.

so, what do you think ?!

wedding hair

i've begun to store up some of my favorite hair styles for the wedding. i wish i could show you my dress, so you'd have a better idea what the overall look might be - but some things are worth waiting for. i'd really love to know what you think. i definitely want something feminine, unfussy but also delicate. i go back and forth between wanting more or less curl. i originally wanted a fabric flower (hello, excuse to buy emersonmade!) but now i'm not sure if they're overdone. what do you think? as always, click on images for source please.

dance. dance. dance.

i can't get over these photos taken of me and m at a friend's wedding. can you tell how much we like to dance? truth be told, one of the things that most attracted me to him was his ability to bust a move on the dancefloor (one of our first dates ever was a salsa lesson - so fun!).

and though we often have very different music taste (me: indie and sometimes girly; him: rap, country, and beach music), we'll dance to just about anything. and we do so (obviously) with quite a bit of abandon. m grew up shagging (a Carolina dance set to beach music), and his parents actually fell in love while on the dancefloor (i know, cute). it's in his blood, and i'm so thankful. dancing always makes life a bit more fun, wouldn't you say?

when we sat down to plan our wedding, m and i discussed what mattered most to us. and both of us agreed that dancing was one of the top priorities. come june, my dancin' shoes are on!

if any of you are planning a wedding, i'd love to hear what you decided would be your priority! flowers? food? do tell.

finally BHLDN

when natalie sent me a cryptic message displaying a simple url, i had no idea what to expect. but when i clicked on it and the webpage appeared, mimicking a pretty letterpress invitation and fading into gorgeous close-ups of lace and cloth buttons, i knew.

the time has come.

anthro is officially launching their bridal line.

i know; pick me up off the floor.

february 14 (how appropriate) will mark the big day. the wedding line, called BHLDN (pronounced Beholden), will launch online followed by a boutique opening in August of this year. their motto, Be You, Be Loved, is so very Anthro, wouldn't you say? romantic and breathless. i can't wait to see what they've come up with. the website preview is already swoon-worthy. lots of texture, lace, fringey poms, glitz, and glam.

AND it's just in time for my wedding. perhaps i'll be able to pick out a few bridesmaid dresses and accessories for the big day. i'll have to steer my eyes away from the wedding dresses. if only.

BHLDN will be featured in the April issue of The Knot, and, small Cville claim to fame, Easton Events will be coordinating the photo shoot along with Rock, Paper, Scissors, who will be designing the paper products. these two companies are incredibly creative (check them out!), so i'm sure the trio will produce an amazing shoot. and yeah, Charlottesville! i love this town.

you can sign up for their email newsletter here: http://bhldn.com/ and if you have any more insider details, please pass them my way!

poms and stamps

last weekend, i invited some girls over for brunch, mimosas, and crafting! now that the wedding is just five months away (!), it seemed high time to put some action into all those diy plans i'd made. the craft party was a wonderful success, and i couldn't have asked to share it with more lovely friends!

i spent the friday before the party preparing. my sister (and fabulous MOH) and i headed out to get all the essentials: ingredients for brunch, champagne, orange juice, fabric, a movie, and chocolate (ok, the chocolate and the movie were for us).

we set out all the crafting supplies:
1. tissue paper (i had bought the paper in bulk from this paper mart)
2. pipe cleaners, scissors, tape, pencils
3. cards (in one of our wedding colors! a total score from the Michael's sale bins)
4. thank you stamp (i splurged! thank you, ampersandity!) and ink pads
5. fabric (in various prints and textures, all in our wedding colors, from JoAnn's)

and then we turned on some music and went to work in the kitchen. we made this delicious egg strata (though we used 8 eggs, tore all the bread into bite size chunks and sauteed all the veggies beforehand). we made it the night before, so the next day all i had to do was pop it in the oven (along with some cinnamon rolls!). and finally collapsed on the couch to watch this movie (which was actually pretty good!). i LOVE time with my sister. we had a blast.


(that picture wasn't taken while we were making egg strata... though we have been known to strut around the kitchen in the dead of winter in our bathing suits. i love our matching freckles!)

the crafting party turned out beautifully! i had made poms earlier in the year for a party (pre-engagement), so i did a quick tutorial on pom-making since we'll be using a lot of them at the wedding. all the girls quickly became pom-making pros and set to work. my good friend natalie, known for her wordsmith skills, added stamping to her skill set and stamped ALL of my thank you notes. and maureen began to craft our fabric wedding banner.

the egg strata was a big hit, the mimosas were delicious, and the conversation was sweet. i'm so excited to see all of the diy decor coming together. i've had this vision growing in my mind since september, and it's going to be all the more beautiful knowing so many friends contributed to the finished product! i feel very loved.














thank you so much to all my beautiful friends who helped! i'm so sorry i didn't get photos of all of you but your presence was much appreciated. i wish i could post all of the finished products, but some things will have to be left until the wedding.

sarah seven

if i could wear multiple wedding dresses, i would have bought my second dress from sarah seven. i discovered sarah seven the summer before m proposed. she wasn't all that well known then but in the past year, her designs have blown up on the blogosphere. this weekend when i saw a huge, gorgeous ad for her dresses in Unveiled (perhaps my favorite wedding mag), i was reminded how much i love her style. the dresses are flirty and not the least bit fussy. AND the best part is that 5% of the sale goes to the International Justice Mission, which works to free those enslaved by human trafficking, and to Compassion, which feeds needy children. how awesome to have a bit of your wedding benefit others!