Wedding Wednesday: Wedding Reception (take 2)

Welcome back to Wedding Wednesday! As I've stated before, my wedding planning situation hasn't been that of a "normal" bride. (whatever that is, right?) For that reason I've decided to share some details on yet another thing that sets us apart from the typical soon-to-be couples out there planning weddings right now... 

Luke and I are both from Tennessee. His family is also from Tennessee... for that reason we tend to spend most holidays with that side of the family. Just like every other gal out there though... I love my grandparents. They have always been my steadfast and what has always been there to keep me grounded. So having the wedding anywhere, but close to them would make absolutely no sense to me. 

My Nana and Pop are from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, but in the last few years made the move to Dover, DE for their permanent retirement spot. That is where we will be hosting our wedding and I am so excited I can barely contain myself. I know that may seem crazy, but my Nana and Pop are my home... I feel so much more at home in that area than I do in Tennessee... always have.

We do have an amazing support system here in Tennessee though, and asking them all to travel the crazy long distance to the wedding would be selfish. So we have decided to hold a welcome reception a few weeks after the wedding to allow a celebration with our loved ones here who cannot make it to the actual wedding.

Here comes the fun part: pictures! Our wedding is extremely nautical inspired, but that's not really going to work with what we are doing for the reception. We decided to have a backyard BBQ theme and needed something to coordinate for our invitations for the event.

My best friend Lori was kind enough to lend her services and snap these photos... she is kind of amazing despite not being a "professional"... you'd never know it by looking at the photos though! Rockstar I tell ya!

These photos also have some sentimental meaning. The truck we used is actually Luke's Dad's. It's a 1952 Chevrolet. He bought it went Luke was little and it wouldn't even run... he restored everything including the mechanics and here it is today a couple decades later. Fun fact: Luke can't drive it until he is 35... papa G is a little bit of a control freak with the Chev. 

We are still planning for this event and it will be even more DIY heavy than the actual wedding. I plan to continue these posts with decor details and how-to's leading up to the event. Stay Tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

XO-L

Look details:

Lacey: 

Dress: Cynthia Rowley via TJ Maxx (amazing find!)
Watch: Michael Kors
Bracelet: J Crew Factory

Luke: 
Button Down: Polo Ralph Lauren
Denim: 7FAM 

Casual Date Night

Dress. J Crew Factory (on sale!!!)

Flats: J Crew (on sale!!!)

Clutch: K slademade (on sale!!)

Belt: Target

Scarf: J Crew

Bracelets: J Crew, Blush Bazaar

Watch: Michael Kors

Sunnies: Anthropologie

Lippie: Candy Yum Yum + Girl about Town gloss

Linked up with: 

Three-fer Thursday, Favorite Fashion Friday, All Things Thursday , 

As you get older... things start to change. I'm going through some major changes this year and it really just hit me that this will be my last "single" Valentine's Day. So crazy to think, but I really went through a page roll in my mind of all my past Valentine's Days and how this one is different. This one is different because it is finally sinking in... I'm about to get married. Hey, don't get me wrong... I'm over the mood excited!!! I'm also scared though... just like with any other big change life is about to get a makeover. I know I'm going to be one happy lady... and I also know I found someone who will make every day of my life the best ever. I just don't know what to expect... how I will feel.... what will be the big "change".  Life is already pretty awesome! Luke treats me like a princess and he is already my number one. Sorry to ramble, but I know I'm not the only person who has gone through this and would love to hear your stories. Love is a journey and everyone's is different. I'd love to learn about you and your love story... maybe it will help me along my own journey.

Now on to some lighter reading... to be honest, casual date nights are more my thing. When Luke and I go out to somewhere low key for dinner and I wear flats and a simple dress I feel the most myself. He always tells me he likes me best when I'm undone.... he also could do without all the lipstick (ha!). 

Chambray is kind of a necessity in life. Dress it up with heels... or down with flats... you can really do no wrong. I had wanted a chambray dress last spring, but apparently had things higher on my wants list... so I snatched this up a couple weeks ago from J Crew Factory. Better late than never right? Since I'm loving red and black so much these days... why not pull the three together. My K slademade clutch added the perfect touch of color and I added an old J Crew scarf from my closet to pull it all together. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for reading! 

ps- Don't forget to share your stories below! I can't wait to read them! 

XO-L

What•I•Wore: Engagement Pictures Edition

Happy Saturday!!! Today I'm just going to dive right in and let you know all the things I learned through the process of planning for and shooting engagement pictures. Like most things in life... it wasn't quite as I had pictured. I had several outfit choices picked out, thought we would have all this time to get ready before, and that we would be in no rush: false. Our visit to see my grandparents and make wedding plans was a complete blur. We spent most of our time running around like crazy people and that didn't exclude our Sunday afternoon engagement pictures. 

Sunday started with church, then going to brunch at our wedding venue and meeting with the planner, then running straight home to grab our clothes and head out the door to the hour drive to where we were having photos done. I had three outfits in the car and the dress on that I wore to church that morning. Contrary to what I thought the weather would be like, we were dealing with 90 degree temps in early October: CRAZY! Needless to say, the cute sweater, scarf, and boots I had brought with me didn't get put to use.

Once I got over the fact that I wouldn't be having traditional fall engagement pictures, things fell into place. I kept my church dress on and changed into my metallic heels to jazz it up. As you can see the pictures with this look are the ones we liked most. I was a little disappointed that a lot of our pictures ended up looking similar, but the fact that I do like these so much totally makes up for it.

Then we moved into our next look, I had a lightweight tweed jacket from Jcrew with me and my favorite Gap jeans.  I knew I wanted some photos by the water, so I opted for something more casual as we changed scenery. While I was sweating bullets, I knew that I needed to use something that would translate the photos to a different season. I didn't get too hot during that last hour, but I definitely would schedule photos a little later in the year if we could do it all over again.

What I learned through this process: schedule your photos for a time with more definite weather (fall, spring, summer, winter... not the in between months), don't get too attached to your outfit choices, have your pinterest ideas with you (don't think that winging it will get you all the photos you want), don't be up tight (it will show in pictures), opt for a neutral palette for color choices (add a pop of color here and there to match your taste, but don't go crazy!), have a conversation with your photographer leading up to the appointment to discuss your wants and needs, and lastly wear what you are comfortable in!

Overall, I am pleased with our photos. We didn't get all the looks we wanted, we didn't have perfect weather, and my hair didn't always want to cooperate. We did have fun with them though and get to know our photographer better, and that's all that matters.

Now the big decision: what to use for Save the Dates???? Any ideas? Feel free to comment below with your favorite photo to help us in making a decision.

One more tidbit of info: WEDDING PLANNING IS NOT ALL BLISS, but when you keep that in mind and keep your head in the right place.... it becomes a lot easier to manage!

Have a great weekend & thanks for reading!!!

First Look:

Dress: Jcrew Factory

Belt: Target

Heels: Jcrew, similar

Watch: Michael Kors

Bracelet: Target

Second Look:

Jacket: Jcrew Factory, similar

Top: Jcrew, similar

Jeans: Gap

Flats: Jcrew Factory

PS- these images are property of Kelly Phillips Photography. Visit here for more photos and if you are in the Eastern Shore area in search of an amazing photographer!