Wedding Wednesday: What Everyone Else Wore

I apologize, again, for the lack of posting! I've missed Wedding Wednesday for two weeks in a row! Last time I talked about finding The Dress. This week I'll talk about what everyone else wore!

The Bridesmaids + Flower Girls

Purple has been my favorite color for as long as I remember. In fact, my room at my parents' house is still painted purple! So it was clear what color my wedding party would be wearing!

I wanted to steer clear of any super-pale lilac or pansy color. I found European Lilac from Bill Levkoff to be the perfect shade. It was dark enough to not be pastel, but still light enough for an afternoon spring wedding.

I picked out the color, fabric (Euro Satin) and length(cocktail) and then my bridesmaids were free to choose any style dress that met that criteria. They had about a dozen to choose from and could pick whatever dress they liked. Out of six women, three chose the same dress and 3 chose different ones!
I asked that they just wear silver shoes, flats or heels--I didn't care. My matron of honor is more comfortable in flats, while my sister chose what can only be explained as "hooker heels"(she's the super tan one on the end)!

I originally picked out silver/gray chiffon dresses with satin lilac rosettes on the neckline and waist for my two flower girls(no picture available). We ordered them in February....they did not arrive at the store until the Tuesday before the wedding. When they did? They were both size 2. That size fit the three year-old, but the six year-old? no dice. Their cousin ended up going out to Belk's to buy ivory Easter dresses. I ended up loving them more than the originals.




The Guys

I originally wanted the guys to wear light gray suits. I love that look and something about a light gray suit screams Spring to me. However, due to logistics, we used Men's Wearhouse for the tuxes and I did not like their gray suits. We went with a classic black tux with ivory shirts--we avoided white since my dress was ivory. J wore an ivory vest + tie and the other guys wore a purple printed one. The ring bearer wore a mini version of J's tux. Our dad's wore black tuxes with black vests and ties.

His mom wore a lovely taupe skirt + jacket, while my mom wore an eggplant halter dress. Here's our whole family!



And here's the whole wedding party! The two girls in the teal and coral are my cousins who were program attendants.

All pictures done by William Massey Photography.

Next week: The Ceremony

Menu Monday

Last week was a total meal planning FAIL! We didn't stick to our plan at all. I had high hopes we'd get back on track this week, but J is working on a friend's jeep, so he had pizza and I had a smoothie. But I've adjusted our schedule and you can see it below! Not too many recipes to link to this time.

Tuesday(originally tonight's meal): seared scallops, spicy sauteed green beans and this new quinoa blend I first heard about on elefantitas alegres and finally found at Whole Foods!

Wednesday: Mama Pea's Yukon Golf White Bean Basil Burgers and sweet potato fries.

Thursday: Either omelets or sausage pasta( chicken sausage with pasta and sauteed bell peppers and onions, a favorite from college)

That's all I planned for this week! I fly out Friday afternoon for 4 days in Georgia so J is on his own. I foresee lots of Totino's party pizzas and Tyson chicken wings.

What are you eating this week?

Friday Favorites

It is finally Friday! Has this week felt long to anyone else?

Today I thought I'd share a few of my favorites...favorite what? Oh, anything that comes to mind...

1) Recent Target Purchases(both pictures from Target.com)

I dropped $50 at Target yesterday. Because that's what Target does to me.

I bought this running tank after seeing it on Meals and Miles:
I really like the look of the tank, but not so sure about running in it(support-wise). I'll for sure wear it for walking and weights.

I also bought this dress:

I bought one similar to it last summer and wear it ALL the time. I wear it in the fall with cropped leggings & flats! It isn't as short on me as it is on the model. In fact, I'm wearing it today at work with my $13.99 Jack Rogers knock-offs I found on the Target clearance rack last spring! It is a great dress for casual Fridays, grabbing drinks, throwing on over a bathing suit, etc. And it only costs $20! I'm already thinking of buying one in purple or blue!

2) Blake Shelton & Miranda Lambert's Wedding Video

I just think they are so down-to-earth and adorable. And I just love "Honey Bee."

3) Secrets Resorts Jamaican Smile Recipe

The resort we went to for our honeymoon posted the recipe for their Jamaican Smile drink on their blog.

No joke, I probably drank 4 of those a day. It was like strawberry-banana smoothie...with rum.

4) We're getting a dog!

At least, we're pretty sure we are. We're hanging out with the potential pup tomorrow. I'll keep you updated :)

5) Beer & Wine Cart at Work

The interns are bringing around the beer & wine cart in an hour or so. Happy Friday!

So there's your random post for Friday. What are your favorites today?

Wedding Thursday: The Dress + The Look

Sorry for the lack of posting this week! No worries, I'll have a full recap of NKOTBSB soon :)


Immediately after J proposed, we went out to Bonefish to celebrate. We killed time at Barnes & Noble where I bought my first wedding magazine!

I didn't shop for a dress until July, but I had a general idea of what I wanted...lace, antique-looking, not poofy. I did not want to go to David's Bridal because of some bad experience there, but I also set a budget for myself(that included alterations). I researched brands that fell within my budget and found a local store that carried these brands.

My sister came to visit Memphis in late July and went with me on my first shopping trip. I went to the store that I ended up ordering bridesmaids dresses from(and had the most horrible customer service experience ever) and told them it was my first time shopping. They let me pull as many as I wanted. One thing I loved is that the price was right on the front of the bag, so I could automatically skip any that were over my budget, thus preventing me from falling in love with one I couldn't afford. I didn't find THE ONE that day, but I tried on quite a few.

After that trip, I could tell I had a favorite--strapless, sweetheart neckline with lace and just slightly full. I found a small shop in Nashville, TN who's entire inventory was within my budget and made an appointment there. My mom and maid of honor met me in Nashville for a weekend of shopping.

I found the dress there. I knew it was the one, because the longer I kept it on, the more I loved it. It was comfortable but pretty. I felt I could move in it.

I didn't have an overly dramatic "Say Yes to The Dress" moment. In fact, I could have kept shopping for dresses because I loved trying them on. But I made up my mind that I wanted to buy a dress that weekend. I knew that if I kept shopping, I'd probably find one that looked similar to what I chose, because that is what I liked. It is important to keep in mind what you want and how you want to feel on your wedding day.



I found my veil only a few months before the wedding. I knew I didn't want a blusher and I didn't want anything extremely ornate or long. My friend Ashley helped me pick my veil out at the shop where I had my alterations done.

I knew I wanted purple shoes. I found some simple, comfortable dye able shoes on ShoeBuy.com and had them dyed to match the bridesmaids dresses. They came pretty close!


I kept the accessories simple. Because I wore my half-up and half-down, I skipped the necklace. I purchased my earrings and bracelet from this etsy seller and I love them.


I felt beautiful on my wedding day, but still like myself which I think is the most important thing!

Next week: What everyone else wore!

All photos in this post were taken by William Massey Photography

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy!

Some facts about my dad:

• He introduced me to some of my favorite movies--Gone With The Wind, Lonesome Dove and The Right Stuff
• He appreciates a good bargain and his favorite weekend ritual is the Saturday morning flea market with a stop for waffles after. He even asked if he had time to go before my wedding!
• One of my favorite childhood memories is going to McDonalds for hotcakes on Saturday morning together

Happy Fathers Day, Daddy! Sorry Linley and I aren't home. Hopefully you and Nip have a good day rambling around.

Recent Reads

I'm a reader. I love, love, love reading. I love getting lost in a good story and feeling connected to characters. My Mawmaw taught me to read at a young age--I remember that the first book I read was "Hop on Pop" by Dr.Seuss. I've been going non-stop since then.

I have a goal to read 50 books this year! According to Goodreads, I've read 17 thus far! However, my tracker says I'm 5 books(11%) behind where I need to be to keep on track for 50 this year. I think I can do it though!

I thought I'd share with you a few I've read recently and enjoyed. You can check out my lists on Goodreads too for more ideas!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much YA fiction I like, but it is true--I'm a sucker for a good YA novel. I believe I first saw this book on NPR's list of the Top 10 YA Novels of 2010(I've read a few and all were very good!). This is a cute love story and very well written. Perfect for a day by the pool!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This book blew me away. I didn't realize I was very "in to" dystopian fiction, but I've read a couple of books now and enjoyed them all. I devoured this in 3 or 4 days. To me it was like a cross between The Giver by Lois Lowery(which my husband has never read! wth?) and The Hunger Games trilogy(amazing, by the way. I read them last summer). I'm already looking forward to book #2...too bad it's probably a year away! Another amazing fact? The author is only twenty-two years old!

The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein

Oh, dog books tear at my heart. I was expecting this one to make me ugly-cry like Marley & Me did, but it didn't. It pulled at my heart strings though. It is such a sweet story about a dog's life with his family and how he see's the tragic events.

The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond

Ok, technically I listened to this book. I enjoy audio books on my long drives back to Georgia. I listened to this one on my drive home for the wedding and on the plane to and from the honeymoon! Appropriate since she tells the story of falling in love with Malboro Man and their first year of marriage. I really enjoyed it.

Dead Reckoningn by Charlaine Harris

I'm a big fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series. I blew through the first 8 or 9 a couple of summers ago. They're trashy entertainment and I'm okay with that :) I can't WAIT for True Blood season 4! I've also read her other books an enjoyed them.

Decision Points by President George W. Bush

See, not all of my reading selections can be shared with my 12 year old cousin or focus on vampires! I read this at the beginning of the year and was surprised by how interesting and intriguing it was. I'm not anti-Bush or anything, but political memoirs aren't really my thing. Some of the most fascinating chapters centered around 9/11 and the Iraq war. I will admit to skimming the economic chapters, only cause economics make my head spin.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

I checked this out of the library last fall and read a couple of chapters and just stopped; I don't remember why. I checked it out again because I plan on seeing the movie and found it very cute! For some reason I keep picturing John Krasinski as Dex, but I know that's not right. I'm currently reading the sequel, Something Blue.

You can check out my Goodreads profile for more suggestions.

Do you have any good books to share?

Wedding Wednesday: The Bridal Party + Other Roles

So after laying the foundation for our April 2011 wedding, we began discussing who all would be involved with our wedding(aside from the obvious!)


Bridesmaids: 6

My matron of honor was my Delta Gamma Big Sister. This was a no brainer. She is one of my best friends. Although she lives in Wichita and couldn't be around for any of the planning, she helped as much as she could over the phone. On the day of the wedding, she was constantly by my side and helping me. She saved the day by finding my grandmother's engagement ring when it fell off my bouquet! If I'd lost that ring, the entire day would have been ruined for me.

I "broke tradition" by having two maids of honor. My best friend from high school is practically a sister to me and her family is an extension of my own. The other is another DG sister, former roommate and best friend from college.

My sister, cousin and childhood friend(and DG sister) were the remaining three bridesmaids. Some people thought it was odd I didn't pick my sister as MOH, but I asked if she'd be bothered by that and she said no, so that's all that matters.


Groomsmen: 5



J's best friend from college was his best man. He's a great guy and I really like him and love that he is such a good friend to J.

His brother, college roommate and two high school friends were the other groomsmen. The roommate flew all the way from California to be in our wedding! We really appreciated it.

We had uneven numbers and that was fine by us. He has two other friends we would have liked to have included, but they are both in the military. One is in the Air Force and was anticipating a deployment and his younger brother is currently completing OCS for the Army down at Ft.Benning. I know people stress over "even sides"--trust me, it is not a big deal.

Kids: 4

Yes, we had kids in our wedding. I have a few younger cousins I adore and I wanted them involved. The two oldest(12 and...9?) handed out programs. The only boy was our ring bearer and the two youngest girls were our flower girls. They were adorable.

Readers: 2

We had two readers. One was J's best girl friend from college and the other was one of my best friends from college. I'll post the readings in my ceremony post.

I also had a childhood friend as our guestbook attendant. We did not do reception hosts/hostesses or cake cutters.

I read a lot of horror stories about bridesmaids dropping out, groomsmen not showing up, etc. and I was shocked that this happened. We knew we could count on these people. The important thing is to choose those who are closest to you to stand up there with you or be involved in your ceremony. No need to ask your BFF from middle school who you actually haven't seen in years but still stalk on Facebook. Or your college roommate you no longer see just because you were in hers. The people we had in our wedding have been in our lives for years and we expect them to always be there.

And I have to say, we made a pretty good looking group!

All pictures in the post were done by William Massey Photography

Next Week: Attire (DRESS SHOPPING!)