The New First Look

Ever since I was a little girl, I imagined what walking down the aisle on my wedding day would be like. Especially that moment when the church doors open and the music begins...and your groom sees you for the first time. A very surreal moment I am sure.

The wedding "first look" has certainly evolved since those days. There are still plenty of brides out there who prefer to wait until the walk down the aisle to see their groom (I always thought I would be one of them), but more and more brides are doing what is called a "first look" that allows the bride and groom a few special moments together to connect before the festivities begin (captured by a photographer of course!).

Ideally, the "first look" would involve the groom waiting in a room or chapel with his back to the door. When the bride enters, the groom either turns around or he waits until the bride comes up behind him before turning around. Either way, I have heard it is a very sentimental moment.

Photo from http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to do a "first look" on our wedding day. Not only would it give us a chance to see each other before the wedding began, but it would tremendously cut down on the time needed post-ceremony for wedding photos. (Translation: the wedding party could leave immediately following the ceremony.)

I do not want a lot of photos taken at the church (despite the strong sentimental value of SCC, there is not much by way of curb appeal...inside or out...), and would rather have a bit of time post-ceremony to book it to the reception site/start taking photos at the golf course. There are so many cute ideas for wedding golf photos! See below:

Eat, drink and be merry

I don't think I have ever mentioned much about our caterer...or even our reception site, two of the largest aspects (and expenses) of our wedding. So today, I will fill you in on both!

Choosing the reception site was one of the most difficult things in the wedding process, for us anyway. We knew that we wanted to be married in the church we both grew up in (Southland Christian Church), but when it came to reception sites, we were at a complete loss. At one point early in the planning process, I had a list of 30-something potential reception sites, from hotels to clubhouses and golf courses to historic sites. It was un-real. And it seemed there was something wrong with every location; it was too big, too small, too expensive, the food/caterer was not good, etc. That was the case at every site until we happened upon Keene Run Golf Club, in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

Keene Run is a relatively new private golf club, located on Harrodsburg Road, only .08 miles from SCC. It holds just the right amount of people, has an amazing caterer on site (DaRae and Friends out of Lexington), is absolutely gorgeous (lush greenery, rolling hills, very "Kentucky") and has the perfect feel to the kind of wedding we wanted (classy yet unrefined, not uptight). One of my absolutely favorite features is the wrap-around porch on three sides of the clubhouse; it has a very light and airy feeling and opens up to the expansive course. A fabulous view! Needless to say, we fell in love with this place right away.

Our plan is to have seating/tables both inside and out (on the patio). I especially love the idea of high top tables outside for people to gather. As the space is relatively new (inside decor is not outdated), there is really not a serious need for decorations inside the clubhouse. I am still bouncing around ideas (for centerpieces and reception site in general) and once those are more concrete, I will definitely share those plans.

As for food, DaRae and Friends will be catering our reception. If you have not had her food yet, you are in for a treat. It is delicious! At this point, our plan is heavy hors d'oeuvres and a carving station. A menu has not been set yet, but we have plenty of time to work this out. In fact, we will be taste testing her food in April, and our plan is to have a menu planned by mid-July. We are toying with the idea of having passed hors d'oeuvres while guests are waiting on the wedding party to arrive (love this idea) and having the full spread ready once we arrive.

Since Jacob and I are planning to see each other before the ceremony (a first look!), there will not be a need to stick around the church for additional photos. Instead, we can book it to the reception site to get photos in over there. In fact, it may even work out that we can get some photos at the golf club done before the ceremony...since it is so close to the church. We will have to play around with those times with our photographer.

As for the bar, we are not quite sure what the case will be on this front. There are several options, from setting a dollar limit (once this limit is hit, the bar will close or turn to a cash bar) to having an open bar for x number of hours (and cash bar to follow once that time limit is up). But we have not played around with numbers or anything yet.

I am super excited about our wedding reception! The food and location are absolutely perfect and will really pull the entire event together. And best of all, it truly sums up everything we wanted that day. Love it!

"So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness."

I realized the other day that I had yet to post pictures of my sample bouquet charms I created. Please note this is purely a sample (thus does not look spectacular)! During this trial run, I did not spread the glue out like I should have, which created unsightly bubbles under the marble. And I did not have a circle hole punch, so the circle was cut freehand (and not very well). I have since purchased one that will make the charm making a much simpler process.

I must say that this DIY project turned out pretty decently, all things considered. Now I just need to determine which photos to use for my girls and begin the creation!

The other day, I got out my box of wedding-related items and came across two things I purchased a while back for the big day:

Serving set to cut the cake: snagged this beauty up on clearance at Pier One at the end of last summer. Love the bronzy color!! And these will be fun to use post-wedding.



Baskets to hold the programs: found two of these at Michael's at 50 percent off. Will be useful after the wedding to hold extra rolls of toilet paper in the bathroom or hand towels in the guest bathroom.

Oh and speaking of programs and such, I am not sure if I mentioned it or not, but we have finally chosen what I have dubbed as our "honor attendants." You know, the program hand-outers, ushers, readers, guestbook attendant, etc. Here they are:

• Reader one: Christie - she and I have been friends since junior year in high school when we met on a CIY trip. Love her! I am not sure yet what she will be reading, but we all know she will do it with style. Oh! And Christie is also choreographing a dance for Jacob and I for our first dance. God love her for taking on this next to impossible task.
• Reader two: Jacob - Jacob is one of my cousins and I am thrilled he will be reading in the wedding. What is funny about Jacob is his name (Jacob Ryan) is the opposite of my Jacob's name (Ryan Jacob...yes, Jacob's real name is Ryan but he goes by his middle name). We have not chosen a reading for Jacob at this point either.
• Guest book attendant: Kelsey - She is one of Jacob's cousins.
• Program hand-outer (is this even a word?): Ben - He is one of my cousins; Jacob's brother actually.
• Ushers (yes, we are adding even more people to wedding party by not having the groomsmen usher guests to their seats BUT we are adding dear cousins to the wedding by doing so!): Billy (my cousin...and he was born exactly four days after me; our moms were in the hospital together); Adam (my cousin - Billy's brother); Kyle (Jacob's cousin and Kelsey's brother); and Ryan (Jacob's cousin and Kelsey and Kyle's brother).
  

As most of the major details are planned, I now need to sit down with my various lists and countdowns and get organized on that front. That is my plan for this week: re-organize myself. Time to take inventory again!

I love Etsy!

I have long heard about this mecca (Etsy) on the Internet that allows people to make goods and sell them, like an Ebay for creative people (and we all know how I love Ebay!). When I finally made time to check it out, I was bummed I hadn't gotten into it sooner!

My first order of business was to look for a wedding day necklace. In lieu of the traditional pearl and diamond look, I am seriously considering something a little more funky. I think this could look really cool, especially since my dress is relatively simple. I am thinking something green...here are a few examples of what I like at this point:


What do you think of these? If I opt for a necklace like one of the above, I will probably use simple pearl stud earrings (or something similar).

As for my hair, I am planning on a traditional veil for the ceremony/some photos. As soon as that is over, I will be losing the veil for something a little less rigid and much more fun. I really like the idea of a feathery flower clip, like some of the images below. But I have also come across a really cool rhinestone headband that may look neat... Take a look:

Opinions? I am definitely going to keep looking to see what else I can find on Etsy!

I have also located some really neat fabric (in various shades of orange and green) on Etsy that would make for great tablescapes at the reception. Lots of inspiration!

And last, but certainly not least, I have been looking through Etsy for bridesmaid gift inspiration. I will not show my ideas on here simply because I don't want to let a secret out! But I can say that I may have found the best gift ever!! I am ordering a sample today or tomorrow so I can see it in person before making a final decision. I will keep you posted!