//A Focus While Planning//

I was never the little girl who planned her wedding, knew what kind of dress she wanted, the colors she would have, the flowers, the scenery. It was just not something I had wanted to dwell on. I dreamed of it being beautiful, but never had a set picture in my mind of what that would look like in reality.


I loved the way several books had described the wedding day, but that was about it.
So this was a little stressful.
I arrived back to a job, but nowhere to live. Then God provided, and I found myself living with 3 sweet girls from my church. 


The engagement year was really hard, realising it was my last year in England and preparing for the changes to come, like filing for a visa, planning a big move across the Atlantic, but also still trying to enjoy this engagement season and being content with where the Lord had still placed me for just a bit longer.
My sweet friends made it so much easier. 

I'm also so thankful that we still had that distance, just as protection from that physical intimacy. As much as we didn't appreciate it a lot, I know it was really God's grace. 
It also gave us the necessary time to plan a wedding when one of you is working full time and the other is in school. 

We also planned our wedding in a city that neither of us were living in. Thankfully we were able to find a venue for the ceremony & reception really soon after we were engaged. 

The rest was done in a few intense intervals, like Thanksgiving we both were able to head back to where A's family was originally from and plan our wedding and again my sister and I flew in 10 days before our wedding the following summer.
So we were able to do most things in those few days. 

The Lord really just opened doors and provided from the beautiful church we found with a fee we could afford who would let us bring in our own pastor, to the reception hall who gave us a huge discount when we opted to have no alcohol at the reception, finding bouquets for the bridesmaids at a store that was liquidizing and also finding bridesmaids dresses available in 3 different countries so that all our bridesmaids could order them! 

In so many ways I think it was good while I was single to not focus on a wedding, although I will admit that I probably frustrated people at various points with not knowing perhaps what I was looking for. 

I did try and maintain a mindset of the wedding not being as big of a deal as it is made out to be in movies. Having it absolutely perfect, because it is really a celebration of the marriage. Not about the wedding. 
I don't think its a bad thing to know what you want, but just to remember to hold onto it lightly, remembering what your real goal is with planning.
So we tried our best to make our focus the marriage, again there was a lot of grace.  
I wish pinterest had been around when we were planning though, so many cute DIY ideas you can use which look amazing and also don't blowup your budget. 

If you are planning (or just interested in looking):

Sisters & Weddings

Creative ways of working with the Weather

Dress Inspiration

Ideas for Flowers

Wedding Cake Ideas

Hairstyle Inspiration

Wedding Shoes

Grey & Red Color Ideas

Invitation Ideas

Guestbook Ideas
Photography
Bridesmaids
Kids in Weddings
Blue & Orange Color Ideas

This post is part of my 31 day series for the month of October, 
fighting through the fears and sharing the confusing passions I have. 
Hoping to figure out the bigger picture of all these interests. 

Bridal Shower Planning & Tutorial.

My sister is the first person I have ever been Maid of Honor for.

So I am totally loving these few weeks before heading across the Atlantic 

mainly because I have been able to plan her Bridal Shower.
Here are some ideas so far:
(I know she doesn't read my blog....if you do happen to be on here sister STOP READING)

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I went to party city and picked up some cupcake holders like these so that we can make a garland of flowers with fairy lights.
(Totally appropriate for indoor or outdoor depending on the weather, its England after all!)

And these pompoms will be in pink & silver.

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I picked up some other fun things like a sash for her to wear and a Banner.
(I debated making a bunting but decided there were enough things to DIY)
I'm super excited to see all these things made up once we get there.
I will totally try and take some pictures of the finished product for you guys.



I also wanted to share a tutorial for the craft we will be doing together at the shower.



My sister has lately been into crafts so my mom & I decided we would add that as an activity to do as there won't be any gift opening. 
(partially because bringing gifts to a shower in England is not a tradition there and also cause they are moving to the States so we are asking everyone to have them shipped instead)



So.......

{I apologize for the bad lighting, this is due to the fact that our humble abode is currently a basement}


Materials Needed:
~ 2 earring pieces ~
~ 6 jump rings (I used 4mm) ~
~ 6 head pins (I used different lengths from a variety pack) ~
~ 1 larger pearl bead & 2 smaller ~
~ Jewellery making tool (I used A's Leatherman, but flat pliers would work) ~

Start by making a chain with your 3 jump rings (for one earring) and connect them to your earring piece using your tool.

Place the larger pearl bead on a long headpin and using the tool, bend it back to form a loop which ends back at the pearl.
(You may also want to loop the headpin through the last jump ring in the chain you made in the previous step, before you close it completely) 

Repeat the same process with the two smaller pearls, attaching them both to the first jump ring in your chain instead of the last. 

And repeat the entire process to make your second earring. 

And there you have a simple craft and a beautiful pair of drop pearl earrings.

Of course you can totally personalise these by adding more pearls to different jump rings 

and using different sized beads. And even make them longer by making a longer chain of rings.

Oh and just fyi, I bought all the supplies for $15 from Michaels (not the Leatherman though).

Happy Crafting!!

And if anyone tries to make these, I totally want to see your creation.

Much Love,

L

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Color Palette: Blue & Orange]

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Hey beautiful ladies,  I assume no guys read these posts (But hey to you if you do).

So I took a week off last week from the wedding planning series, hope no-one minded too much.

I have been trying to be consistent in these posts just in case anyone is finding them really helpful.

I hope that is the case.

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Its been a few weeks since I did a color palette, so I thought I would use today to add another one.

These are two colors I would have never put together, but they are simply stunning!! 

I love hearing what colors people have chosen when they are planning a wedding.

Its almost wedding season (summer) for us....we have at least four we are attending this year. We are going to have to miss out on several as they dont fit with travel plans. 

A&I are also going to be in the wedding party of one this summer too.

My beautiful sister is getting married.....not till Sept though =)

So anyway.....

hope you find inspiration in the pins.

Even if these aren't your colors, remember ideas are totally transferrable to other colors.

Much Love,

L

P.S. Great Tip: Make sure you get a swatch of the exact shade you are using (maybe from somewhere like David's Bridal) and match everything to the exact shade, or you might end up with a lot of different shades.

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'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Kiddos In Wedding Party]

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One of the many cute parts in a wedding for me, is seeing the little kiddos involved in the Wedding party. I have seen so many different things done, like one flower girl & one ring bearer to many of both.
 I guess it depends on how many children there are in your family and how many you want to include.

If you have multiple nieces and nephews you may end up with all of them to avoid hurting anyone's feelings. Or you may just select one to keep it simple.

It probably doesn't really matter, but my guess is that you don't want to upset anyone.

I chose by talking to one of A's cousins and finding out which kids would probably really want to do it the most. Then asked those kids to be a part of our wedding.

I tried to keep it fairly simple for them, our flower girl wore a dress she wore for a previous wedding and we just added a colored sash to it, it worked really well.

Our ring bearer had a little suit which came from a thrift store and my MIL sewed a little band & a bowtie for his outfit to match the flower girl's sash.

It looked super cute =)

I think the basket was also a thrift find and the pillow came from walmart.

I also did not give the ring bearer the actual rings. I just didn't want to give a 3yr-old that responsibility.

So I tied 2 plain rings I had in my costume jewellery to the pillow.

The Maid of Honor and Best Man kept the rings for us on their fingers until the appropriate time in the ceremony.

I think traditionally ring bearers and flower girls are between the age of 4 and 8.

Both of ours were 3 I think.

Their parents also sat crouched at the front of the church so all they had to do was walk to them & a little toy on the step.

They did a really good job =)

They also went first at our wedding.

I think traditionally they usually go just before the bride which has created such a cute idea of them carrying 'here comes the bride signs.'

I am IN LOVE with those. They are the cutest thing!

Anyway too much stinkin cuteness in today's pictures.

Enjoy!

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Much Love,

L

P.S. I couldn't resist showing this cutie in her formal dress. I really hope the Lord blesses us with a girl some day. This outfit is TOO CUTE!

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'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Bridesmaids, Bridesmaids, Bridesmaids]

Woop Woop its time for those wedding posts again....

As my sister is in town this week has actually been full of some wedding planning.

So I'm totally into Bridesmaids stuff this week....

I thought I would share my little knowledge about choosing bridesmaid items.

{Warning: This is a little info heavy haha}

Dresses:
There are SO many different dresses to choose from for your bridesmaids.
If you want to keep them cheaper than usual, you can totally pick a dress you like from a store like forever 21, H&M, wet seal, charlotte russe and just get your girls to get them as soon as you choose it to risk it being unavailable.
I've totally seen this done at weddings and it still looks really cute.
I'm sure your girls will thank you for the cheaper dress too.

If you are looking for something from a bridal store, for that more formal look.
Then personally I think both David's Bridal & Dessy carry most styles in a TON of colors.

David's Bridal as you probably know are a chain and you can look up the location, Dessy are a brand but they have store locators so you can find a store which carry them. Dessy tends to run a little more expensive (not by much though) but has more variety than just David's Bridal alone.

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So some things to take into consideration about these dresses for your girls:

1. All of them probably come in different shapes & sizes, so either pick a dress which will look great on everyone or have some dresses like the ones above which can be altered to a style that suits each one. As much as they probably won't complain about what you make them wear, no-one wants to wear an unflattering dress while supporting you. {You can even make life easier for yourself and just pick a color and tell them to pick whatever dress they want in that color}
2. Season. If you are getting married in the summer and its humid, long floor length gowns might not work for you guys. 
3. Keep in mind the length for taller girls. I always have a nightmare with this. Tea-length on an average height girl falls a few inches above the knee. Regardless of what stores will tell you, bigger sizes don't compensate well....tea-length on a tall girl will probably be uncomfortably short. Just saying =) 
4.  Think about modesty. Everyone has different standards, but if you know of a friend who's standards are higher than yours....take that into consideration perhaps. You don't want to upset her and put her in a difficult situation. It is your wedding day but these are your girls, they will still be here after 'your day'. {I have been the bride before also...I know how difficult it is to please everyone...but its worth trying}
5. Colors....if you havn't chosen your wedding colors...this is the place to start =)
6. Make sure you give your girls enough time to order the items they will need. Tell them if they need a specific dress, shoes, jewelry and send them the links to buy it all.

{Just some thoughts to consider}

Shoes:

A lot of the stores above will dye shoes for you to match the dresses. Or even dye them to your complimentary wedding color. For instance if you choose grey & red, you can have the dresses in red and then the shoes in grey (or the other way....you get the idea). 

These are from dessy and come in pretty much any color you can think of:

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Dessy also have these flip flops (perfect for summer weddings!) available in again a ton of colors. The base is the same color on them all and then they outside is dyed to the color you want:

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David's Bridal also do a whole collection of dyeable wedding shoes.....

again to dye to any color.

 

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And if you still don't have enough selection from those sources....payless shoes totally have a dyeable bridal footwear section too.

{Unforgettable Moments By Payless Shoes}

Again...make sure you order them early enough. I think a few of these can take 3 months to dye and have them shipped, they also should all be dyed together so that the color is the same for them all.

Or you can get shoes from a store like target and again just make sure you tell your girls to order them ASAP so everyone gets them before they cycle out.

Jewellery/Accessories:

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Again this probably depends on your style and color.

Personally I think your best idea for this, if you want all the girls to match, is to buy them the jewellery as favors (always nice to say thankyou).

They get to keep the jewellery and you know everyone has exactly what they need on the day.

Probably safer this way, just in case Kelly leaves hers back in Montana and realises when she gets to your wedding. (totally fictional btw haha) 

If you like you can find matching jewellery in stores like Claires, Forever 21, any which carry accessories =)

Or you can find jewellery here:

Dessy

David's Bridal

The Knot Wedding Shop

And there is always Etsy. 

I think this might be my personal favorite, you will get original items this way and be supporting someone's small business. 

I didn't know about it while I was planning =)

That's probably enough from me today.

Have an awesome time with your girls!

Much Love,

L

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. {Photography ~ Favorite Captured Moments}

 
Well I am still a little behind schedule in keeping up with what were my regular post topics.

But today I thought I would share with you my favorite moments from weddings in my Pinterest folder.

These keep me inspired & make me fall in love with weddings all over again.

Such beautiful moments are witnessed when a couple vow to love each other before the Lord.

Such a precious thing to witness.

I'm sure you will love these as much as I do.

We had such a talented photographer do our wedding.
He was amazing!! He captured everything in a way that took my breath away.
I still love looking through those pictures 2 years later.
For me, choosing the right photographer was a big deal. I wanted someone who took amazing pictures, because that would be what we had after celebrating that day to remember it by.
So I would recommend looking at a bunch of local photographers and seeing what their style is like.....
every one of them takes pictures in a different way.
One will be the one you love.

You can find ideas on what to talk to a wedding photographer about HERE and HERE for a wish list of events you might want captured.

Enjoy these precious moments.

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Beautiful right?

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If you are getting married near a beach....take pictures there. No really.
Beach pictures always look amazing.

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I love these pictures. Capturing the faces of the couple as they leave together.
And magical with all the sparklers.

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A bride and her girls.

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Super fun having pictures taken with the ladies.

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Umm...wow.

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Such a precious moment of praying for the bride before the wedding.

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Capturing the hands of the Bride, Mother of the Bride & grandmother of the bride.

LOVE this.

Wish I could have done this.

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So sweet.

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Wanting to pray together before getting married but not see each other.
SO precious.

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Bridesmaids seeing the dress for the 1st time.

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SO creative. LOVE this idea.

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 Not wedding, but such a cute shot of a proposal.

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Totally want to do this idea. Take a picture of your own little girl in your wedding gow. 

Then she can use it at her own wedding.

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Little girls and wedding dresses, so precious.

I can see the dreamy look on her face.

Adorable.

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This is so cute & creative...

again if you're by the beach....

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This one CRACKS me up!

LOVE it!

Happy Wedding Planning friends.

Enjoy these beautiful moments we are blessed with in life.

Much Love,

L