Wedding Wednesday: Pin-spiration!

Last time I posted an inspiration post it was when I was planning on a winter wedding so now that we are firmly established in our summer date I thought I would update with what are now the things that I am dying to have on my big day.

Things have been slow in the wedding planning because I basically booked all of my big vendors and I feel like now I'm just waiting around. So I use pintrest and weddingwire to fill my free time (which is like 5 minutes) and find more inspiration.

Rose Petals

As much as I want to do something beautiful and intricate like the picture on the left, I also really like the simplicity of having a heart on the ground and then also lining the aisle with petals. I think it would be a lot neater and the heart would still provide some 'wow' factor.

Sparkle...everywhere

I am obsessed with glitter and want it all over the place at my wedding. Place cards, candles in the centerpieces, I'm putting diamonds on the table, there will be no shortage of sparkle. I think it's so classy and fun. Also, none of it will be gold, I'm all about the silver.

Card Table

I love this box and definitely want it on my card/gift table. Besides that I will probably just frame an engagement picture or something to put on the other side since after a few guests I'm thinking the table will probably have gifts on it and not need much decoration anyway.

My hair 

Up with a sparkle headband is what I am set on. I love this hair because it still has volume and probably looks great from the top but it isn't too much in the back. I love the soft curls and that headband is stunning. Now that I have my dress I know exactly how I can do my hair and I know I'm going to love it. One thing I really want is to be comfortable on my wedding day and I think that with the dress I picked and having my hair up, there will be nothing getting me down! 

I am starting to have a really clear vision in my head but two things I am struggling with are music and what we want in the ceremony. It will be done by out paster but I'm not really into the sand or unity candle. I think it's cute but just not us, anyone have any ideas?

Linking up! 

Pray for Pilchuck.

Yesterday there was a school shooting about an hour from where I teach. I sat in my classroom reading the reports and got goosebumps. Hearing what those students witnessed, how terrified they must have been, it shook me. I looked out onto my students who were working on group projects and being goofy because it was Friday. How can a child get to upset, hurt, angry, that they think killing others is the only options? We will never know what was going on inside that child's head, but it is so incredibly sad. Not only did he take his own life, but the lives of at least one other person, with others still fighting for theirs.

My heart aches. It aches that we see this much violence. It aches for the students who witnessed it, the ones who lost friends, the teachers who have to keep it together and be there for the students. It aches that I have to be scared of this happening sometime during my teaching career.

It is a sad day.

#prayforpilchuck

Weekending: Lack of Sleep

Another weekend has flown by! This weekend was a busy one but still fun, a typical pattern. 

Friday

After school my MOH and I went to Hobby Lobby to look for wedding decor, christmas decor, and scrapbooking supplies. If you've never been there, it's a wonderful store. I love all of the variety and they have really good prices (almost everything is always on sale). I ended up buying some chargers and small things for my centerpieces. I looked at all of the Christmas stuff but couldn't commit to anything yet. I got like 4 sets of stickers for my engagement scrapbook on sale for $1 each, score! I am also looking at decor to register for and fell in love with this gold and navy bathroom ensemble. 

Friday night my fiance invited some of our friends over for a game night. We enjoyed some drinks, a lot of laughs, and we got a little competitive at 2am when we were all trying to win this game. It was a great night and I'm glad that my fiance forces me to be social when I would rather go to sleep at 9pm. 

Saturday

I woke up that morning and wrote a 15 page paper for grad school, that was fun...not. But I got it done! 

Then my fiance and I went to a marching band competition to watch some of the schools that he teaches drumline at. Right now he is only teaching at 1 but he has taught at 3 others before and they were there so it was fun to see some friends from the other side of the state and enjoy some good music. 

Sunday

Church && football. Typical sunday. :) 

Here's to another week! 

Linking up! 

Wedding Wednesday: Engagement Photos

C and I took our engagement photos last weekend and it was such a blast! I was super nervous the week leading up to them. I haven't been working out or eating healthy so I wasn't feeling very great about myself but thankfully I ended up with outfits that I liked and I was feeling good about myself which is half of the battle.

We went to a local park and I was hoping we would find a lot of fall colors and we didn't, but thats okay. There was still a lot of neat places for backgrounds and fun pictures. We got three sneak peeks yesterday and I immediately sent them to all of my closest friends because I couldn't contain my excitement!

I really enjoyed working with our photographer, she gave great direction but also was open to my ideas for things I saw on pintrest that I just had to try. Some worked, some didn't, but we laughed along the way.

These are just a few of the sneak peeks that she posted and I can't wait to get my gallery later this week.

Next step, save the dates! 

Linking up below. :)

five on friday: what's on my mind

We've reached the end of another week. Yay! We have no school today as a state in-service day and I'm thrilled for the 3 day weekend. Here's what's on my mind this friday. 

1. Gymnastics! 

I'm a huge gymnastics fan and this week is hte World Championships so I've been waking up super early (today I got up at 4am) to watch them. I'm totally crazy but it's so fun and this only happens once a year! Go Team USA! 

2. Silent Auction Fundrasier 

I'm organizing an auction for my FFA chapter which is happening tonight. We have a ton of awesome items so I can't wait to see how it ends up turning out. We are trying to raise money for 18 students to travel from Washington state to Kentucky...so it's pretty spendy. 

3. Getting healthy

This has been at the bottom of my priority list and I'm so unhappy with myself for not taking it more seriously. After this auction stress will be a little less and hopefully I can find some time. I really need to before it's too late.

4. My Wedding

(loving this look for the place card table) 

Things keep falling into place and I'm slowing making more decisions about things that I want done. One of my friends (who is the mother of my flower girls who was also my 6th grade teacher) asked if we want and engagement party and I'm considering it. Is it weird to have one a couple months after you got engaged, or is it worth it to celebrate and see your friends? I'm torn. My mom and I are going to look at my venue today because she hasn't seen it and I'm excited to go back. 

5. Money

I've been reading Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money and it really gets me thinking. My best friend just went through financial peace university and passed along a lot of the tips. I want to make sure that while we are young we are managing the (little) money that we have in order to maximize it in the future. 

Happy Friday! Linking up with the lovely 5 on Friday ladies. :) 

Wedding Wednesday: Wish List

After spending about $2,000 last month on deposits for my photographer, DJ, and photobooth I paid my credit card with this month's paycheck and realized that I need to slow down my spending just a tad. I'm trying really hard this month to slow down the spending so that I don't end up with another huge bill. Here are some things that I am waiting patiently to purchase when it gets closer to pay day!

Save the Dates 

We are taking engagement pictures on Sunday (FINALLY) and once we get them back I can't wait to order my save the dates. I'm not totally decided on even which site we are going to use but there are so many options. Anyone have strong opinions towards a certain sight? 

Robes for my Bridesmaids

Don't ask me why I want to buy these so badly already but I do! I think because I love buying gifts for other people and then I will already have these so that I can buy more gifts when we get closer to the wedding. I am going to get a simple cotton robe and just do a monogram so that it's something people will wear often.

Craft Supplies

My wedding will be all about the glitter and sparkle so I want to try and make some neat candleholders like this to add to the centerpieces or for one of the other tables that need a little decor. I also decided that I wanted to do something like this for my cards. I'm not into suitcases or birdcages and they totally don't fit my theme, but this bling-ed out box totally does. 

Is there anything you are holding out for or eager to buy this month? 

Linking up with Kristyn 

Weekending: Baby Love

My weekend started off with me being stressed and dreading a camping trip I had to take students on, but when i saw this sunrise on my way to school, it made things a little better.

After school on Friday me and four students headed to a FFA district camping trip (120 total kids, 7 different schools from our area). It was homecoming so not many students from my school wanted to go but we had a couple. Due to things that I didn't control, I was volunteered to be in charge of this when I've never been there before nor did I have any idea what I was doing. A student officer team ran most of it but there were a lot of awkward power struggles and it was overwhelming. Needless to say I was happy when I got home.

My fiance went away for the weekend so I had a sleepover at my moms. She made the most delicious dessert, see below. It consists of brownies, cool whip, chocolate pudding, and reeses. SO GOOD. 

We went to visit a family friend who just had a baby. I had some quality baby snuggles and loved it. Isn't he the cutest? I can't wait for my friends to start having babies. 

This morning I went to church and then headed to my mom's house for brunch with my brother, aunt, and granded. She made a ton of yummy food and we just relaxed for a couple of hours and watched football. 

I headed home in the afternoon to wait for my fiance to get home and worked on grad school assignments. We watched a bunch of football and then our favorite shows in the evening, Revenge and Once Upon a Time! :) 

It was a busy weekend and I wish it wasn't already over!

Linking up with Meghan!  

Dear October...

Dear October...

I hope for some sunshine or at least a rain-free afternoon when we take our engagement pictures on the 12th. I'm really hoping our outfits come together and that I like the pictures. I can't wait for these pictures so we can finally do save the dates.

I am taking (along with another teachers and chaperones, of course) 18 students across the country for a National Convention. I pray that things go smoothly (since I'm the one in charge and planning the trip) and that there are no major hiccups. Also if my kids could win a National title, that would be pretty cool.

Please may my students remain nice to me. I seriously love them and they are so sweet, fun, and entertaining. I am building good relationships and a positive classroom environment and I hope that this month I can continue to cultivate that.

I need to get back into the bible. We are in an awesome series at church about the life of David and I need to start reading it daily and making that a priority. I know how much better my life is when I choose to do that so this month I need to put effort into it.

Those are my hopes and goals for this month, what are yours??

Wedding Wednesday: On the hunt for the perfect dress

I'd like to start off by thanking you all for such great feedback and ideas about how to spoil my bridesmaids. I have been looking at gifts online and can't wait to finally start purchasing some things. I definitely want to spoil them as much as I can, especially since they will be helping me so much. 

This week I want to talk about my dress. I still don't own it yet, but I'm trying to find one and it's been a struggle. 

We (my mom and I) went to David's Bridal two weeks ago because I figured it was a great place to start. I tried on like 10 and definitely had one that I really liked and a lot that I didn't. I didn't want to commit the first time I tried on dresses but I felt pretty good about the experience and had one that I knew if I did buy I would be happy with it. 

I had an appointment at a smaller boutique in my own on Friday and my MOH joined me and my mom for this trip. At this store most of the dresses were a lot bigger than my size so it was harder to get an idea of what they would look like on me. The one that I really liked my mom didn't like, and then one that my mom and MOH liked I liked, but wasn't in love with. My mom also couldn't stop comparing everything to the dress at David's Bridal and that kinda drove me nuts.

My third appointment was on Monday and ...

This is what happens when I write posts early, I wrote this all Sunday night. My mom and I went shopping on Monday night and guess what...I SAID YES TO THE DRESS!

We went to a third store and there was one that was completely different like I kinda liked, it had an illusion back with a ton of beading, a lace top and chiffon bottom. It was so different from the ballgown I liked that it was hard to commit. We went to dinner and then my mom said, lets just stop at davids bridal to look at your bridesmaid dress colors. Well then of course I had to put back on the dress I liked and the consultant was like, you know if you come back to visit a dress it probably means it's the one? I wore it for like 20 minutes then finally rung the bell and made a wish for my wedding, and it's mine! :D 

Did you guys have that moment where you just knew it was your dress? Anyone try to think it wasn't the one but it ended up being your first choice?

Linking up Lisa Nicole && Kristyn