engagement pictures [preview]

It was a great experience getting our engagement pictures done.  Our photographer, Kristin Partin (her website is here), was great and had lots of unique ideas and ways to use the different settings.  So far we have just seen a few preview pictures, but we love them!  Can't wait for the rest of them!

inspiration: milk & cookies

I stumbled across this shoot on one of the wedding blogs I read and it is the cutest thing ever.  It is a "milk and cookies" inspired wedding, and oh my gosh, every detail is absolutely adorable.  Enjoy!

  This makes whole shoot makes me so hungry!

 I love the idea of using old boards. I don't know how difficult it'd be, but it really adds a nice touch.

 Cutest. Cake. Ever.

 Cookie ingredients as a favor? I love it!

(cup)cakes

For my wedding cake, I am thinking about doing something a little less traditional.  I haven't decided for sure, but I really like the idea of having a small cake and cupcakes.  I'm not sure if this would help us save money, but if it does that would be great!  Here are some cute small cake/cupcake pictures that I've found:

I love the idea of having a little cut out or flat or something in each cupcake, but that might be too tedious.

LOVE this one!  It may be partially because I really like orange for wedding colors too. but I also think it's very clean and elegant.

 I am obsessed with the letters.  Totally doing that.

These last pictures are just some regular cakes I think, which could be the style of the small top cake:

i wish...

I've been feeling kind of down recently which has led me to do some reflecting on what I really want to do and what is important to ME.  I am in grad school because I thought it would be a smart career move, but I'm starting to think about it differently.  I feel like I need to have a deep passion for interior design to be in grad school, and while I enjoy it, I don't want it to consume my life.  I don't think I am one of those people who can be okay having her job be her whole life.  One day when I was walking to school I started making a running list of things I'm interested in doing, trying, or changing.

I wish...

... I was a better multi-tasker.

... I had the time to explore things outside of grad school.

... I had a really good camera.  I am really interested in photography, which is probably a topic better saved for its own post.

... I could experiment with cooking.

... I had time to read books for pleasure.

... I could learn a craft.

... I could have an Etsy shop for stationery.  I love looking at peoples' invitations and graphic designs, and they get to work for themselves - my dream!

... I was able to travel more, even if it was just day trips to nearby places, like a winery or the pumpkin patch or something.

... I was one of those people who really embraces the seasons and decorates, cooks seasonal foods, etc.

... I was happier with where I am right now.

It's a strange feeling, because half of me is really happy and excited about our wedding, but then when it comes to grad school I am very discouraged.  Planning for our wedding has exposed me to a lot of different lifestyles, occupations, and blogs, which has made me question the path that I am on.  I don't know what it's going to take for me to accomplish those things that I want, but it seems like a lot of it comes down to time and money, neither of which I have right now.  I know I have the desire, but without the other resources I'm just left feeling frustrated and unfulfilled.

/debbie downer

inspiration board

I found this inspiration board which fits me perfectly!  I love everything about it.  Of course the colors would have to be adjusted (although I do really like the orange), but it really embodies the feel I want to achieve.

love love love it!

wedding signage

I am really excited to design signage for our wedding.  There are so many opportunities to customize and personalize, so I hope I can find the time to design some things myself.  I found these on a modern wedding blog: she designs various stationery (which is all adorable, by the way), but I feel like I could take a lot of these ideas and design and print my own version myself.

I think this is so sweet.  Instead of having a menu at the place settings (since I am having a buffet), how about putting custom thank you letters to the people who came to enjoy your special day?  This idea could be used in many different ways!

 These ideas are so easy and I think really add a great personal touch.  They would be so easy to print and assemble yourself and they can easily play up whatever theme you're going for!

 So so cute.  I can't wait to design my own!

our save the dates!

The first product/item/whatever for our wedding has been finished!  Our save-the-dates have been designed, and all I have to do is order them.  They are by capturedmomentsbyamy on Etsy.  She has a variety and suites and her love birdies were just perfect for me - I love them!

 {front}

 {back}

wedding diy projects

In an effort to save money and give the wedding a personal touch, I have been looking into do-it-yourself projects that I could do.  Here are a few that I love - I'm hoping that I'll have time to do some of them.

 How cute is this?  And they're in our letters already!  These will be very easy to make because I have a machine at school that can cut things out precisely, so I get to pick whatever font I want !  I am going to do a B and D as seen above, and also "i do!" for the cake display

DIY favor bags that are so easy!  All you need is a paper lunch bag, a cutout punch, and a custom stamp! 

I think it's a cute idea to have a mixed CD of the couples' favorite songs as a favor.  These are also very easy to make and could be done in the wedding colors and spruced up with a ribbon and a custom stamp (which you can find at Etsy).

These fan programs are something that I definitely want to do.  Since I'm having an outdoor summer wedding, I think this is a great solution to help people beat the heat.

They're really easy to make, too!  These people had the back printed with a word search (a cute idea) and attached pencils  I'm not sure if I would do that or not, because it would cut costs to just use them for a program.  I'm thinking of having maybe one of our engagement photos on the back, but I'm still open to suggestions!

Another cute summer idea!  This is a mason jar filled with all the ingredients to make ice cream.  It's basically the ice cream experiment you do in chemistry class in high school (which I only vaguely remember).

I like this because it gives the opportunity to make cute tags.  That's one thing I am excited about is designing signage for the ceremony and reception.  I'm a nerd.

my palette

I wanted to post some inspiration pictures of my color palette to give a better idea of what I want.  I feel like the colors I've fallen in love with offer a very narrow hit or miss window, so I need to find the right balance and not let it get out of control.  I just think it's so beautiful when done right!

{pictures from TheKnot.com}

engagement portraits

Our engagement session has been scheduled for October 26th and I'm so excited!  We are having them done by Kristin Partin, whose work can be found here.  I'm especially excited because she's coming up to Blacksburg to do our portraits in campus!  I think it's going to be adorable because there are so many cute backdrops and it's a place that's special to us.  I just hope the fall colors are still in full swing because it's already so pretty here!

Here are a few of my favorites of Kristin's work from here website.

 Here are a few places on campus that I'm considering for our engagement shoot.

 

This is the Burchard plaza where Dionis proposed.

 

Burruss and the drill field.

 

War Memorial.

 

The duck pond.  (It should be very pretty in the fall!)

 

This is what I'm really excited about, if it works out.  We are trying to see if we can get into the stadium to get cute pictures on the field and running through the tunnel... I think it's going to be awesome if it works 0ut!

invitations & save-the-dates

I'm trying to be proactive in making decisions regarding the wedding, but there are so many ideas constantly running through my mind that it makes it hard to nail anything down completely.  I've been using Etsy to search for save-the-dates and invitations because there are lots of creative invitations that are completely customizable.  The theme I want is lovebirds and my colors are light blue and red, so I am trying to find a suite that fits the my style.  While I think silhouettes of realistic birds are beautiful, I love abstracted fat birds!  I think they fit my personality better.

My wedding colors.  I want red to be used as an accent color to the light blue.  These are fresh, fun colors that have won my heart.

 

This is the set is at the top of my list.  I've already contacted the seller and she has very reasonable rates.  Of course I am horrible at making decisions so I haven't decided for sure.

 

I think this is adorable too!  Fat birds! <3

 These are gorgeous, but I don't think the birds are fat enough for me.  I love the style, though.

 

My friend Lauren found this for me yesterday and I think it is too cute.  It's very simple but it works.