Advice For Brides-to-Be

 My mama and I 

Photo by Jessica Fairchild

Wedding #1: Santa Barbara

Those are my cutie patootie nephews ; )

I'm so excited to be able to share my wedding photos with you guys today! Our wonderful photographers edited these pictures and sent them to us only 4 days after our wedding in Santa Barbara (talk about great service!) They created a slideshow for us so we could play it at our wedding reception in Edmonton, which took place this past Friday and was so much fun, more on that one later ; ) I hear stories of brides waiting six months to a year, even a year and a half for their wedding photos so my husband and I feel extremely lucky to get them back less than a month after we tied the knot! And I'm happy to be able to share some of them with you ; ).

I was never one of those girls who dreamed about her wedding day or what she was going to wear as she walked down the aisle, (I dreamed more about what song was going to be played) but I knew I didn't want a big wedding. When D. and I got engaged in beautiful Santa Barbara last year we fell in love with the city and I knew this was the place I wanted to get married. Luckily my now-husband thought it was a good idea as well ; ). We invited 22 of our closest friends and family to our wedding, (which just so happened to take place exactly a year later from the date we got engaged, I swear I didn't plan it that way!) and I'm so glad they all got to experience the charm of Santa Barbara.

We had a short, intimate ceremony with one of our good friends Kosi officiating, which was really special to us, he did such an amazing job! We hired a Spanish guitarist to play before and after the ceremony and we wrote our own vows. Afterwards our talented photographers took us to what could be described as an enchanted forest -seriously I thought I was in a fairy tale! - for photos. We couldn't be happier with the way they turned out! For our reception we decided to have it held in a private room at Stella Mare's, a French bistro located next to a bird refuge. I chose this venue because it looked absolutely adorable on the internet (this is how I did all my planning for our destination wedding), and you didn't need to add too many decorations because the shabby-chic decor was enough on its own. We also had use of the private terrace where our cocktail hour was held. The food and service at Stella Mare's was amazing! We didn't have a dance after dinner, we saved that for our Edmonton party ; ). Which was a good idea because we were both exhausted by 10:30 p.m. ; )

We couldn't be happier with how our wedding day played out. It was so weird because I was so calm and relaxed the whole day, which is SO un-like me! A couple of people asked me why I wasn't freaking out and I guess I just had a feeling that everything was going to go well and that at the end of the day I would be married to my best friend and would finally be able to call him my husband! It also helped that it was a very small wedding and I felt extremely confident with everyone involved in making everything run smoothly. I also had the best bridesmaids by my side, who were a great support ; ). Our wedding day was a day full of so much love, a day we will never forget. We felt truly blessed. Thank you for following along and for reading, I know this blog has been heavy on the bridal posts, I promise I'll go back to normal blogging next week!

Wedding Details:
Ceremony Venue: Santa Barbara Courthouse
Reception Venue: Stella Mare's, Santa Barbara 
Photography: Jessica Fairchild
Flowers, Decorations and Rentals: Casi Cielo Events & Flowers
Hair: Shelley Zydek (my sister-in-law!)
Makeup: Lisa Tatum (my cousin!)
Wedding Gown: La Sposa Pronovias "Mullet" style from The Bridal House
Earrings: Haute Bride
Shoes - Sterling 
Bridesmaid's Dresses: Bill Levkoff from The Bridal House
Men's Suits: Moore's

Links I Love: Wedding Planning Edition

Guys, I am getting married in less than 3 months (!!!) It's crunch time so I'm deep in planning mode. Most of the big stuff is taken care of like the ceremony and reception venues, flowers, photographers, etc. but my fiance and I are going away to get married and when we get back, two weeks after we come home, we're having a big party in our hometown to celebrate our "conscious coupling" (hee hee), which I thought would be less work but now it's like we're I'm planning TWO weddings and there's a lot more left to do. Oy vey! Luckily, I've come across some helpful websites to draw inspiration from and sites I can go to to purchase decorations, jewelry, party favors, etc. at competitive prices and I thought I would share my finds with my readers who may be engaged, are planning on getting married or who can use this post as a reference in the future.

For Inspiration:

Style Me Pretty - The Ultimate Wedding Blog. Just click it, you'll see ; ).
The Knot - Great ideas, from flowers to dresses to honeymoons and more. Oh, and if you're having a summer wedding outside, check out these 7 sunscreens that won't stain your gown.
Pinterest - This is pretty self-explanatory ; ) I have spent hours on here. Pinterest has basically planned our whole reception and ceremony ; ).

For Decorations:

Wedding Star - Shop themes including vintage, art deco, shabby chic, retro and wanderlust.
Save On Crafts - A DIY dream site! Discount wedding supplies and special event decorations.

For Jewelry:

Etsy - I bought my bridal jewelry and bridesmaid's jewelry from Etsy, they have a huge selection of beautiful earrings, necklaces, bracelets. Also, check them out for handmade decorations, too!

For Invitations:

I had my invitations made by Pinkpolka Designs. I was extremely happy with them and this company was so easy to work with and very accommodating. (And fun!)

I hope this has been helpful! If any of you want to share any wedding links you love, please leave them in the comment section below! Have a great weekend : )

xo