Meant to Beeman - A Millbrook Vineyards & Winery Wedding

Melissa and I met each other a few years ago when she posted on Facebook that she was looking for cowriters for her blog, Picturing Disney. As time went on, we became friends and have shared some of the best and the worst life has thrown at us. And want to know something funny - Melissa and I have never met in person.  Needless to say that the day Melissa announced that she and her awesome beau, Jason, were getting hitched was met with endless congratulations and brainstorming about how I could assist her with her big day.

Before we worked on anything for her big day, we worked together on a design for both her Engagement Announcement and her housewarming party. When it came time to start working on her invitation for her big day, Melissa wanted to take a little bit of a slightly different direction. She wanted to share a little bit of a more rustic vibe with a little bit of modern convenience. 

Melissa + Jason's invitation was constructed with a tear away RSVP. That RSVP was a post card that only required a stamp to send out.

Needless to say that her big day was out of a fairytale, rustic dream. Here are some detail shots of her big day and some insight directly from Melissa herself.

What did your big day feel like?

"It was perfect. It was worth everything I went through before that. It was worth everything Jason went through before that. It was a fairy tale. It was crazy, and had its disorganizations and snafus, but our family and our friends and the people we surround ourselves with are the kind to laugh it off with us and move on. Our cups runneth over from start to finish, with love (and wine)!"

"My mother made our wedding cake and all of the book bouquets, she did it because she is wonderful and used to bake as a side hustle for a while. The books featured in the bouquets were: Bride - The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Bridesmaids - MacBeth, Pride & Prejudice, A Child Called It, Mists of Avalon, Everything Everything, Alice in Wonderland, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh."

What is the best memory from your big day?

"The knot tying ceremony with my entire family (Jay and the Kids) at the ceremony, and our first dance (When I Am Married by Wilder Adkins, performed by the Squids whose lead singer happens to be my Uncle."

Do you have any advice for future brides in what to look for in a stationer?

"Be honest with yourself and be fair to the stationer. I think some people expect miracles or have no idea what they want and then blame other people when things do not come out perfect. We had a vision and we had complete faith in Monique to bring that vision to fruition."

Did your stationery design reflect what your wedding looked and felt like?

"Absolutely, 100% from start to finish. I used to much chalkboard (painted with white acrylic paint rather than chalk) for decorations, similar to our initial announcement and Engagement/Housewarming invite, and mimicked the font on the Invites for a lot of the stuff I created. I also think the kraft paper was perfect for our romantic-rustic vibe."

Is there any additional advice you would like to share?

"Life is short and when you meet the right person you know it. If you don't know it in your soul. Don't settle, don't waste your time or your hustle on anything less than big love that shines in your eyes brighter than any constellation in the night sky. The person who makes your foot pop, heart skip a beat, and rights all your wrongs is out there for you. When you find them, don't let go, just be brave, smile, say 'hello', swipe right."

Vendors

Wedding Venue - Millbrook Vineyard & Winery

Pre-Wedding Venue for the Bride and Bridesmaids - Fairytale Cottage at Wing's Castle

Photographer - JacPfef Photography

Hair and Makeup - Revivalon Main Salon Spa

Caterer - Victoria's Wood Fired Pizza

Invitations - Only One Mark, Inc. (US!! 😍)

Officiant - Rev. Jim Rooney

Musicians - The Squids

What No One Tells You About Being Engaged

Although it feels like a forever ago, it was only a short time ago that Gus and I were engaged and planning one of the most important days of our lives. It is one of the most meaningful experiences we’ve ever had as well as one of the most stressful experiences too.

Here are 3 of the most important lessons I learned about being engaged.

Photo Credit - Dipp Photography

1. EVERYONE WILL GIVE YOU THEIR OPINION

No matter who it is - Mother, Mother-In-Law, Friends, Co-workers, that random person in the store - everyone has an opinion about YOUR big day. It’s almost like a tube of toothpaste. Once you open the cap, if you aren’t too careful, the toothpaste is just going to keep flowing out. And in no way do I mean to demean the advice of your loved ones. Most are just trying to be helpful. But too much of that help can sometimes feel really overwhelming. 

Advice - Limit what you tell folks about your big day. If they aren’t really apart of your bridal party or wedding vendor team, they really don’t need to know #allofthedetails about your plans. Some loved ones won’t understand why you want to do a first look or not want to do a bouquet toss. That’s ok, because at the end of the day, YOU and your future spouse need to be happy with how you want to shape YOUR DAY.

PHoto Credit: Kristy & Vic Photography

2. THERE WILL BE DISAPPOINTMENTS

One of the biggest disappointments from our planning experience was truly knowing the difference of a “dream budget” and what our “actual budget” was. Although we paid for parts of our wedding, we still had a lot of help from family and friends. It was truly a blessing as we were gifted some of the main items (my dress, our cake to name a few) so we could concentrate our budget on other items that were details we wouldn’t have had.  Another disappointment was the reality of planning on a tv show to real life planning. When visiting the first florist we initially booked, I fantized about a bouquet being built in front of me and hand picking the flowers, in person, that would go into the floral details of our big day. Boy was that bubble burst. Not only did they not build any bouquet in front of me, but they didn’t have any fresh flowers in person PERIOD. After two other big let downs, we terminated our contract and found an amazing florist (who did build the bouquet in front of me). 

Advice - Before you go visit any venues or book your first vendor, write out wishes and needs on a sheet of paper and have an idea of what your budget really is. You will need an initial list of guests to really help you get an idea of the cost per guest. If you need an idea of what to write down, click here to download a sample worksheet that you can work from to get started.

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

3. HAVE FUN + ENJOY THIS SPECIAL TIME

Yes, this is one of those pieces of advice that you’ve probably heard from 90% of the people you chat with. From experience, you and your fiancé have to mentally make the decision to do so. And trust me, with all of the details that can go awry, it’s super easy to displace your anger or disappointment on your partner. This is why at one point of our planning story, Gus and I decided that any time we would spend together on a date would be just that - a date. There would be no talk of wedding planning unless we had both agreed to set that time as planning time. One of the ways we did that was by playing games of UNO until our food arrived to the table. One of our favorite restaurants even dubbed us as the “Uno Couple” because of how much entertainment they received from watching us play (it was super competitive and there may have been a few choice words shared). 

Advice - God willing, this is the one and only time you will ever plan your own wedding. That is one of my hopes and prayers for all of my brides. But you and your fiancé really need to agree ahead of time on what details or possible occurances you are willing to entertain or shoot down. This is, in a way, a build up to what marriage is like. Being a team that works together to make the best life possible WITH one another. #foodforthought

At the end of the day, everyone’s wedding planning experience is different. You can watch #allthemovies and read #alltheblogposts, but no one experience is ever alike. My hope for all my brides is that no matter what their planning experience was like, that they feel nothing but calm and peace as they get ready for their big day. I call it the “calm of the storm” GET THE REAL NAME. (Eye of the storm?)

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at the button below. I’m more than happy to share some of my experiences from my big day. 

And Our Padawan is a...

For what seems like weeks (reality it’s been only like two), Gus and I have been keeping another huge secret. A secret that has kept folks on pins and needles - the sex of our Padawan (Youngling for those of the extra nerdy kind). 

I have to admit to you guys that I honestly have been genuinely surprised at the hype this has caused amongst family and friends. Folks have tried during this time to fool us into revealing our secret...to which all have failed. We were even bribed with money and, at one point, dinner and a big ticket item off our registry, but honestly, everyone finding out all at the same time felt a lot more fulfilling than letting it slip to anyone. 

Our gender reveal happened on Sunday, February 11th and we couldn’t have been more thrilled with how everything turned out. Check below for some of the highlights.

Because...what kind of jedi would we be if we didn't weild our own lightsabers 😅

🚨Baby Bump Alert!!

Group Photo!! There seemed to be an overwhelming  show for Those on Team Girl.

And here’s the reveal!! I explained that we would be revealing the sex two ways. One would be by way of lightsaber, where either the lightsaber would be Blue or Red. Another indicator would be the from the smoke that would come from blowing up the Death Star (like in Episode 4 of the Star Wars Saga..see clip here).

HERE WE GO!!

😂 🤣Ok...for real now...Here we go! 🎉

Gus and I are so excited with the fact that our Padawan is a boy. It was both of our first guesses from the very beginning. #nolie Now we are just planning and preparing for his 💙arrival (guys, you have no idea the relief it is to write a pronoun instead of “it” or “spawn”). Well, until our next update! 

P.S. - Want to know where I got my supplies? Here is a list below:

Gender Reveal Smoke Stick (Wire Pull to Start) - Gender Reveal Supplies

Box - Target (Office/School Section)

Wrapping Paper - Michaels (Value Section)

Decor - Only One Mark, Inc. (Blog post for instructions on how to make the box will be posted sometime soon. 😉)

P.S.S. - Wanna see the video? Click here!

Yalina + Josh - Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina

Trust me when I say that this year has been filled with a lot more "firsts" both in my personal and career life. Let's talk about this gorgeous place card detail....on a capris shell!! 🐚✍🏻

Photo Credit: Erica Melissa

Go ahead...jump over to gush over the romantic details found on Erica Melissa's blog. #swoonworthy

Vendors

Venue: Pink Shell Beach Resort

Hair & Makeup: Ulta Beauty

Rentals: SLE Vintage & More

Florals: Events by Zeiry

Shell Lettering: Only One Mark Inc.

Bridal Gown: Alfred Angelo

Bridal Cape: Champagne & Grit

Cake: Sandra Rodriguez