Archives for August 2015

 Well now that summer is coming to a close (sniff, sniff) I should probably show you a gorgeous wedding I coordinated at the very beginning of summer, right?

Jen & Luis had everything a good wedding needs – extreme happiness, a beautiful venue and a motorcycle exit!

Thanks to my gal Lori with Capture Me Candid Photography for these simply perfect images of their day. Full vendor list at the bottom of this post.

First things first, the wedding was held at the beautiful Laboratory Mill in Lincolnton, about 50 minutes outside of Charlotte. The Laboratory Mill is a new-ish event venue, roughly a year old but the building itself has tons of history dating back to the Civil War. It’s gorgeous and I loved working there!

Let’s get started with Jen’s beautiful dress which looked perfect hung on the exposed brick walls that were plentiful at Laboratory Mill!

How beautiful is this bride?!

The outside of the Mill has a beautiful red color that made for a perfect photo backdrop, as did the lovely rustic grounds.

The ceremony space has extra high ceilings with amazing wooden beams. Simple candlelight is all that’s needed to dress it up, although a couple cute ring bearers didn’t hurt either!

The picture (below) with the sun is one of my favorite wedding pictures I’ve seen in awhile.

I also loved the coral and pink florals from Pink Petunia.

Everyone had a blast at the reception:

…and that cake tho!!!

Jen and Luis rode out in style in one of my favorite getaways to date, a motorcycle getaway! It was simply put, badass. Excuse my French.

I know they will live happily ever after, but in case you needed reminding….

Thanks to all the wonderful vendors and especially thanks to the happy couple for trusting me to coordinate their beautiful day!

Full vendor list:

Venue: Laboratory Mill | Photographer: Capture Me Candid | Caterer: Triple Crown Caterer 

Flowers: Pink Petunia | Cake: Cake Couture | DJ: Groove Singer, Michael Branson | Dress: Dar-Lynns

Tablecloth Rentals: Party Time Rentals

Today on the blog, I’m talking random (yet awesome) things I’ve come across lately. These topics run the gamut, anywhere from Carrie Bradshaw, Mac n’ Cheese and Rose wine. Come to think of it, a glass of Rose combined with a bowl of homemade Mac n’ Cheese might just be my dream dinner.

Let’s get random, okay?

73 Questions:

Do you want to waste a lot of time and also get up close and personal with your favorite celebs? Then I suggest you head over to Vogue’s Video Series 73 Questions . This fun series interviews celebs (think Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, SJP (Sarah Jessica duh) with 73 random questions asked in a single shot. Plus you get see celebs on their own home turf (think: Nicole Kidman on her Australian farm and Matt Lauer at Studio 1A). It’s SO much fun and a great way to procrastinate. Thank me later.

Carrie Bradshaw:

Speaking of SJP, I came across this link about Carrie Bradshaw’s best outfits on Sex and the City and just had to share. Like every girl in the country, I adored Sex and the City. When the series came to an end, my college housemates and I watched the final episode together and literally SQUEALED when Mr. Big’s name came up on Carrie’s cell phone. I’m Team Big, btw…I know, blasphemy for you Aidan lovers. But despite Carrie’s many love interests, her outfits were really the star of the show. Take a walk down memory lane with this roundup. 

Daily Reads:

I don’t mean to brag, but I get a lot of emails. Now listen, a lot of them are spam and are therefore nothing to brag about, but most are work/client emails (so many emails…). A treasured few are my “daily reads.” In addition the Fitness and Health emails that I occasionally skim (hehe), I get theSkimm and Refinery 29 on the reg, and they are life-changing.

I don’t know about you but I happen to like knowing what’s going on in the world. Being informed is important to me for many reasons and theSkimm helps me accomplish just that. Every morning around 7ish theSkimm pops into my mailbox and pertinent news ranging from foreign affairs to politics to sports is delivered directly to me. It certainly helps that the topics are delivered in a cheeky fashion by two obviously clever gals. Who says you can’t enjoy getting your news every day? Seriously sign up for theSkimm if you haven’t already. Currently they are “skimming” presidential candidates and the question/answer sessions are pretty great.

If you’re looking for more of a lifestyle site, try Refinery29. This site covers fashion, entertainment, news, health…basically anything a gal could want. You’ll get an email or two a day and I promise there is something worth reading in every email blast.

Simply put, staying in the know is where it’s at, and these two sites help you do that.

Books:

If you’re more into reading books than websites, I’ve had the pleasure of reading several awesome books this summer. I also am fortunate enough to belong to the Mickey Library. Never heard of it? It’s pretty exclusive. My mom’s name is Mickey and she happens to be an avid reader. So I just “borrow books from the Mickey Library.” I probably haven’t bought a book in years becasue I just borrow them from the ever growing Mickey Library. There are no late fees, she personally drops them off at my doorstep (sometimes with a $20 bill inside) and we share the same taste in reading material. Plus Mickey doesn’t bother with for silly things like waiting until a book is in Paperback, she buys them in hardcover – Balla! Many of my friends and even Mr. Fo reap the benefits of  the Mickey Library. This summer I checked out the following titles from the Mickey Library:

All the Light We Cannot See is a wonderfully written story about a young girl and boy surviving during World War II. It’s not a light read, but it’s worth it. I thought about this one long after I turned the last page.

The Stranger is a thriller that’s perfect for the beach. I read it in a few days, it’s fast moving and keeps you guessing. I highly recommend!

Tell the Wolves I’m Home is another poignant read about a young girl and her unusual relationship with her Uncle’s partner. I really enjoyed this book and thought the writing was beautiful.

Judy Blue has proved she can do grown up books really well with her latest: In the Unlikely Event. This book gives you some nice closure so you know where all of the characters end up, which I love.

Let’s move on to food and drinks, shall we?

Rose.

Rose is the perfect summer wine. Besides the fact that it’s pink, it’s a perfect poolside cocktail that I feel like everyone forgets about except during the few precious months of summer. As if you needed another reason, here are a few MORE reasons why to drink Rose.  For the record, I’m loving these two affordable Roses right now. – Charles & Charles Rose which I find at Whole Foods and Le Ferme Julien which I buy at Trader Joes. Both are dry, delicious and won’t break the bank!

Wedding Stuff – you didn’t think I’d do a post without something wedding related, did ya?

 This is for all my brides who plan their wedding during their day jobs. I did it, you did it, we all do it. The Knot has come up with some great ways NOT to get fired while planning your wedding at work. My fave tip? Don’t assemble your invites at your desk – LOL. Check out their advice HERE.

Too soon!

My final random thought is a note to retailers who are putting out fall things. Ive seen pumpkins and Halloween decorations (ahem, Michaels), pumpkin spice coffee and fall clothes/shoes (I’m looking at you Target). Can we just please enjoy the last month of summer? Pretty please? I love Fall, don’t get me wrong, but let’s not jump ahead of ourselves.

So that’s all the randomness I’ve got in me for now! Hope you enjoyed!