On Thursday we woke up in Varenna, on the banks of Lake Como. We had pastries and coffee at a small cafe on the town square. Then we headed out to catch the ferry across the Lake. We bought an all day unlimited ferry pass for 15 Euro each, which was a great buy. You...
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Italian Honeymoon Day 3: Venice to Lake Como
On Wednesday, we woke up in Venice and walked for about 20 minutes to the train station. Inside the station, we picked up sandwiches and cokes for the train ride. This was crucial as we were taking small regional trains that definitely did not have food cars! The train took about 3 hours and we...
Italian Honeymoon Day 2: Venice
On Tuesday, we woke up in Venice! Our apartment provided a great breakfast spread - we had fresh fruit, juice, coffee, yogurt, and pastries. It was great to not have to go out and hunt for breakfast. We packed our day bag and headed to St. Marco's Square. This is the big tourist-y area in...
Italian Honeymoon: the Flight & Day 1 in Venice
On Sunday April 12, the day after our wedding, we left Charleston around 11:30 for Charlotte. We spent the morning at a farewell breakfast with our out of town guests and then stopped by our condo to grab our suitcases and throw together our toiletries. Then we hit the road towards Charlotte. We decided to...
Wedding Sneak Peek
I can't believe that it has almost been a month since we got married! It is hard to believe. It was just the most beautiful, amazing of days. It's crazy to explain how it feels to be surrounded by so much love and happiness and the most important people in your life. It was amazingly...
Bridal Portraits
I am so excited to share my favorites from my bridal portraits with you today. I never really saw the point of bridal portraits: it isn't your day, or your actual bouquet or maybe even your actual hair and makeup choices. However, my photographer described them as a chance to get all of the shots...
Choosing a Wedding Dress
I kept my wedding dress a secret until the big day, so I thought that I'd stop in now and tell you about it. Bridal Portrait by the lovely Ava Moore Photography... more on these tomorrow! I was definitely a bride with very little vision of what I wanted in a dress. I tried on...
Ombre Fabric Strip Photo Booth Backdrop
I am all about the little personalizing wedding touches. Things that bring in your colors or theme can really make the event feel more unique and less like every other wedding your guests will attend this season. We knew that we were going to have a traditional photobooth for our guests, but I wanted to do...
April in Review
April was just the perfect month. We got married, surrounded by our friends and family, and spent two weeks in the most beautiful country of Italy! We also finally got to share some wedding projects that we've had up our sleeves for a while now. If you missed them, here's what we did: We shared...
Wedding Parking Sign
The entrance to our venue is a little closed off. You turn off the main road and go about 200 yards to a small intersection. The venue entrance is directly across that intersection, but hidden by large bushes, so we wanted people that aren't familiar with the area to know how to get there. That's...
Welcome to the Party
Since we were having so many out of town guests, we knew that we wanted to have welcome bags for them at the hotel. The hotel where we blocked rooms didn't charge a fee for this service, so that solidified that we had to go for it. I really wanted welcome baskets that would have...
Wedding Bathroom Baskets
Planning to have bathroom baskets at your wedding? Here's what we put in our wedding bathroom baskets, and what was a hit and what was a miss! Ready for another example of how Pinterest & wedding planning can make the average girl go crazy? Enter: bathroom baskets. I never knew that this was a thing....
Table Numbers
When it comes to wedding planning, at least for me, some things you get creative with, and some things you copy straight off Pinterest. But that's what Pinterest is for, right? Sharing really cute, "unique" ideas? Have you ever noticed that some things that you see all over Pinterest, you never see in real life?...
It was Sweet of you to Come!
We made our own wedding favors of a special sweet treat for our guests. This was fun to do for our guests! Favors have been one of the aspects of our wedding that we have wavered on. I knew that I wanted to do something edible (take-home glasses with someone else's name on it end...
Gifting the Parents
Is it just me or is it really hard to buy a present for your parents? Usually if they want something, they buy it for themselves, or they give you a specific list. We have had the most success in the past surprising our parents with experiences or sentimental gifts. For the wedding, we knew...
Groomsmen Gifts
I've been a groomsmen for two of my friends before, so I knew the standard protocol for a groomsmen gift- anything with a monogram. In the past, I received a monogrammed flask and a monogrammed cigar cutter. Both of those guys are in my wedding, so I had to go a different route. When searching...
Bridesmaids Gifts
I am so thankful for my bridesmaids. They have really helped me so much during the wedding planning process. And, of course, they’ve been my good friends for years. While my big ($-wise) gifts to them were paying for a portion of their dresses and the makeup and updos for the wedding, I also wanted...
Nautical Bridesmaids Hangers
I have always known that I wanted to do special named hangers for myself and my bridesmaids. Not always as in, since I was a little child, all I dreamed of was hangers. Not exactly, but ever since I saw them in wedding pictures, I knew that I wanted to have them at my wedding....
Bridesmaids Bracelets
After choosing a bridesmaids dress, I quickly began to think about accessories. Because of the ruffled halter neck, we collectively agreed that a necklace would be unnecessary. I wanted a very southern, yet "colorful coastal" style to the whole day. So, I decided (and the BMs agreed) that it would look lovely to have no...
Find Your Seat...
I don't know why, but this was one of my favorite projects for the entire wedding. The layout of our venue is kind of weird, so we had an unusual table arrangement. We knew it wouldn't be super-intuitive to figure out where each table was or where you were supposed to sit. So we made...
Where Do I Get a Drink?
Thanks to my bar sign, guests at the wedding will know exactly where the bar is. If it was hard to find before, just look for the giant bar sign made out of bottle caps. I had this idea to create a cool bar sign that we could use for both the wedding and, eventually,...
Building a Driftwood Cake Display
Check out how to make a cupcake display using driftwood and wood slices! A natural and nautical party display! As you know, we were going for a "nautical" look to our wedding decor with all of the decorations we made. Since the cake is often the center of attention at a wedding, at least for...
Hashtag String Art
Our wedding venue is so beautiful that it really doesn't need much decor. But, we wanted a few pieces around to make it extra personalized. One of our favorite projects that we have ever done is the XL Ampersand string art hanging above our bed. Classic Pinterest? Perhaps, but it looks so good and was...
Directional Arrows Wedding Sign
Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from, Cotton-eyed Joe? This is the first post since we got married on Saturday! As Morgan said on Friday, we are off on our honeymoon (currently in Venice as a matter of fact). Since this is the first post post-wedding, we thought...
This is it!
Hey guys! Just stopping by for the last time before the big day! Today we are both off work and hopefully not scrambling around. Tonight is our rehearsal and then our welcome party, and tomorrow is the big day! I am so incredibly excited and honored to marry my best friend. With all of the...
The Last Minute Shuffle
So... we get married on Saturday. You know, the day after tomorrow. People keep asking me if I am nervous or stressed or have a lot to do. I say no, because it's true. I'm not nervous. I have never had even the slightest doubt about marrying Sean - in fact, I wish that I...
101 in 1001: Go to a Charleston Battery Soccer Game
This past weekend we decided to unwind a little bit with all the wedding hoopla going on. We've been going going going with everything surrounding the wedding and we wanted a little rest and relaxation. So we decided to cross off #42 on our 101 in 1001 list and go to a Charleston Battery Soccer...
Easter Baskets!
Easter is always a fun holiday. Aside from the meaningful religious aspect that is the actual reason for the holiday, Easter is always a fun holiday for kids and families. Between dyeing and hiding Easter eggs, to dressing up in light pastels for church, to Easter baskets, it's a really fun day. But just because...
March in Review
What do you mean, it's the last day of March? That means that we get married in ELEVEN DAYS. It feels completely surreal that everything that we have been planning for so long is finally going to come together in one day... and oh yeah then we get to go to Italy for two weeks!...
Swimsuit Shopping
It's finally that time of year - swimsuit season! I typically buy one new suit a year, but I can't decide which trend I want to jump on this year: stripes, bows, scallops, or wrap around tops. What suit are you getting? Check out some of my favorites - all under $50 a piece -...
Wedding Hair & Makeup Trial
I had the most fun afternoon last Wednesday - I had my bridal portraits made! Now, I'm not sharing any sneak peeks of those until after the wedding, but I will share my hair and makeup. I had my hair and makeup done at the place where I get my hair cut, Vski Salon in...
Nautical Nick Nacks by West Elm
Happy first day of spring everybody! I know that it is really warming up around here, and I hope that there is a sunshiny weekend ahead for all of you. As the weather gets warm, I am so looking forward to hosting more BBQs at our pool grill and have friends over to dine al...
Pre-Wedding Wellness & Beauty Routine
There is so much to do to prepare for a wedding. Vendors to coordinate, crafts to make, visions to bring to life. For me, it was also important that I get my body into the best possible version of myself. We are spending a lot of money on photography and we will be seeing people...
Warby Parker Men's Glasses
A couple of weeks ago, I told you about how I needed a new pair of glasses and that I was gathering some inspiration. One of the places online I had heard about was Warby Parker and I liked the look of their glasses. They have a cool business model. They will let you pick...
St Patrick's Bachelorette Weekend in Savannah!
This past weekend, my bridesmaids scooped me up and took me to Savannah, Georgia for one last "single girl" hurrah. We picked the weekend based off of local spring breaks (a couple of my girls are in grad school and my sister is in her fourth year of undergrad) but it also happened to coincide...
Our RSVP Experience
RSVP is a major topic on WeddingBee, so I wanted to write a post about our experience. I know that a lot of people worry about how many people they should invite and actually expect and who will even RSVP, depending on a variety of factors. Here is our case study. For the record, we...
Cupcake Tasting!
One thing that I knew from the start of wedding planning was that I didn't want a traditional wedding cake, I wanted cupcakes! I love baking and eating cupcakes. I think that they are fun and delicious. Since our wedding food is going to be in stations around the venue, a cupcake station will fit...
Men's Eyeglasses Inspiration
I have bad vision. Not terrible, but bad enough that if I'm not wearing my contacts, I can't see faces or anything clearly that's more than a foot in front of me. I wear my contacts all the time, but take them out an hour or so before bed a few times per week if...
Bridal Shower Part Deux
I am such a lucky girl. I had an amazing family co-ed bridal shower in North Carolina last week, and this Sunday I got another shower - a Bridal Brunch for some girlfriends here in Charleston. Ya dig the Lilly Pulitzer? They know me too well! My bridesmaids planned a brunch at Water's Edge restaurant...
Thank You, Thank You Very Much
One thing that I have always been a stickler on is thank you notes. I like to write them early and often. I have heard that you have a year after a wedding to send a note - but in our case, we are getting an early jump on them. I know that some people...