{Merry Little Christmas}: A Palette of Red & White

{Candy Apple Red & Snow White}

With only 1 day until December, I was inspired to create this red & white inspiration board. I think it feels perfect for a holiday wedding. I especially love the candy cane inspired bridesmaids dresses & the light-hearted feel that this board seems to have. Want to add a pop of color to your attire, try on a pair of red heels & step into the holidays with style! And what goes together with a pair of red heels? A beautiful red clutch of course. This holiday palette is brought to life with all kinds of beautiful details. A little red barn, blanketed in snow makes for a cozy spot to say 'I do', while evergreen-filled window boxes make it even cozier. {continued...}

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{top row}: bridesmaids attire, red barn and newlyweds, windows, lipstick, {middle row}: candy apples, calligraphy, newlyweds, red clutch, favors, {bottom row}: red heels, soda bar, flake motif, striped bridesmaid dresses.

Details We Love

Thank You Labels by Betsy White

Red Clutch

A red snowflake motif was incorporated on everything from save the dates to programs, while the calligraphy of Laura Hooper made invitations feel special & unique. As a thank you to their guests, the bride & groom gave candy apples packaged in paper bags. Beautiful red labels, by Betsywhite Stationery Boutique were use to give the favors a pop of color. For a special treat, the couple set up a cherry soda display. The old time feel of the bottles added such a sweet sentiment.

{Evergreen Garland}: A Palette of Garland, Mocha, Ivory + Snow

{Garland, Mocha, Ivory + Snow}

To me, this beautiful, mossy green color is the prettiest shade for a Winter wedding. Combine shades of ivory and white, while layering this palette with cozy textures, & you've got the makings of a perfect Winter wedding. For this bride, I imagined a holiday theme. Evergreen branches hung with ivory & white ornaments served as a beautiful focal point in the reception space while garland was strung throughout the space. A fireplace held stockings hung with care while a fire served up both ambiance & warmth. {continued...}

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{top row}: tree, sage green bridesmaids, gorgeous floral bouquet, bridal gown,{middle row}: green garland, sugar cookies, present, vintage plate, ornament,{bottom row}: soufflees, clutch, stockings hung with care, handmade hair piece.

Details We Love

Stockings Hung with Care

Gorgeous Bridesmaids Dresses

Bridesmaids wore gorgeous sage colored dresses all with unique necklines. This subtle difference made each lady look unique & stylish. Ladies also carried cream satin clutches with gold accents. Dendrobium orchids gave bouquets a special look while centerpieces were designed to coordinate. In lieu of the traditional wedding cake, souffles were served on specialty china. As a special touch, heart shaped sugar cookies piled on a generous serving platter made for a perfect late-night snack. Each guest received ornaments as favors. Wrapped in green paper and satin ribbons, the ornaments were engraved with the date & a special thank you.

{Our Wedding} Engagement Shoot

{Our Wedding} Engagement Shoot Part 2

Can you believe that today marks our 1 month anniversary as husband and wife? Yep, it's true, I've been a Mrs. for a whole month! Wow, this month has truly flown by! I guess the quote "time goes fast while you're having fun" really does ring true. How's married life, you ask? Well, I'm here to report that being married is the best! I really am thankful to have such a loving husband! This week we've been very busy getting our house in order for Thanksgiving. Yep, we're actually hosting our first Thanksgiving this year as husband and wife! It's time to break out all of the china & all of those great serving platters we received as gifts! A tip to the wise...definitely register for china & flatware, you will be so happy that you did! I'm so proud to have the collection I do! Our table is looking so festive & beautiful!

So as I prepare to give thanks this week for all of the wonderful blessings that we have been given- I thought it would be fun to continue the story of our wedding and let you in on "Part 2" of our engagement shoot! Here are some of my faves.

{Photo credit: Renee Brock Photography}

So there you have it! Some of my faves from part 2 of our engagement photo shoot! Stay tuned for more photos, stories & planning tips. This story has just begun and you surely don't want to miss how our wedding came together. Oh, and if you missed Part 1 of our engagement shoot here it is.

{Visions of Sugarplums}: Plum, Silver + White

{Plum, Silver + White}

Winter Weddings are a perfect reason to celebrate your love for the color purple. With it's rich and dramatic undertones, plum truly is a hue that you can do so many things with. For this particular inspiration board, I paired it with snow white & silver. This sassy trio really has that something special. It's elegant, it's magical & simply put- its a bit enchanting. {continued...}

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top row: designer clutch, beautiful bride, white feather wreath, fascinator,
middle row: silver snowflake, scarf, snow covered barn, purple beads, tags,
bottom row: purple ornament, olum bridesmaids, festive table decor, heels.

Details We Love

Feather Wreath

Great Heels!

Escort Card Idea

Some of my favorite images in this board include the gorgeous feather wreath and the beautiful table decor.. And what's not to love about those bridesmaids dresses & that incredible pair of heels? For this wedding, I imagined lots of rich & cozy textures, lots of candle light & a celebration that would be remembered for years to come.

{Baby It's Cold Outside}: Snow white & Red

{Red & White}

As November comes to an end, there are definitely signs all around us that Winter is right around the corner. Red and white might sound like a color palette that has been done over and over but I happen to think that its a color palette that never gets old when used in Winter weddings. There are just so many beautiful & elegant ways that you can bring this dazzling duo to life. For Maria, I imagined bridesmaids dressed in red gowns. {continued...}

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top row: snow flake, holiday bridesmaids attire, flowers, red bridal party, middle row: glowing candles, newlyweds, ornament, gift, red snowflake, bottom row: cozy drink, snow kisses, candy canes, happy bridal party.

Details We Love
Newlyweds in the Snow

Bridal Party Attire

Fur wraps were worn by the maid of honor and matron of honor while red and white flowers were incorporated into centerpieces & bouquets. Little red berries & candlelight added some extra ambiance & a single ornament was placed on each place setting. The ornaments served as keepsakes as well as place cards. As a special treat for their guests, the bride and groom had a special after dinner hot cocoa/cappuccino bar set up. Such a cozy way to end the evening. Guests went home with candy canes and a pair of handmade mittens.

{Walking in a Winter Wonderland}: Antique Gold, Camel, Ivory + White

{Antique Gold, Camel, Ivory + White}

A nip in the air means Winter is near. Cozy textures, metallic finishes & a landscape blanketed in snow....These are all of the makings of a gorgeous Winter wedding, wouldn't you agree? And what's most exciting is that this color palette is actually quite simple to pull off. For this bride, I imagined bridesmaids in floor length antique gold gowns, and I imagined the centerpieces and bouquets being composed of all white blooms. I imagined simplicity, elegance and warmth radiating from the reception space. {continued...}

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top row: gold bridesmaids, golden necklace, winter wedding, snow boots,
middle row: rustic branches, flower girls, flourish, handmade invitation, barn,
bottom row: kiss, ornament, golden wedding attire, Festive Christmas tree.

Handmade invitations would have the same feel found throughout the event - and would also coordinate with the save the dates. Each bridesmaid wore a gorgeous gold snowflake necklace as well as a pair of gold high heels. To add to the Winter theme, the bride wore a pair of snow boots & a fur wrap. When this wedding came to an end, the guests were presented with beautiful gold holiday ornaments that they could take home in memory of this beautiful day.

{Our Wedding} The Engagement Shoot

{Our Wedding} The Engagement Shoot Part 1

{Photo credit: Renee Brock Photography}

So ever since I came back from the honeymoon I have been trying to figure out exactly how I should start my wedding recaps. Like I mentioned before, this past year has truly been one that has been all kinds of fun planning adventures. From choosing a cake to being neck high in DIY, my year of planning was really quite fun & exciting. But where to start?

I started by looking at all of the DIY projects I had worked on over the course of the year. And honestly I considered starting there- but then I received a package in the mail that made a light bulb go off in my head. It was the digital negatives for our engagement shoot! Wooo Hooo :)

Receiving those in the mail was truly an exciting day! Being the self proclaimed picture lover that I am- I was in wedding photo heaven! 500 + pictures! So I poured myself a tall glass of sweet tea and started the process of finding my favorites.

As you can imagine- it was tough for me to narrow down my picks. I really am guilty of being photo obsessed. So with the enagement photos in hand, it was that day that I decided I was start from the beginning and work towards the wedding day! Makes sense doesn't it? So here we have some of my faves from part 1 of our engagement shoot.

My photographer, Renee Brock, was truly a pleasure to work with. We decided to meet in The Virginia Highlands in Atlanta which also just happened to be our photographers neighborhood.

Renee took us all over town with different locations in mind. This particular part of the shoot was at the very end of our session when we were about to head back to our car. Renee saw the old picket fence & the old abandoned house and asked us if we wanted to do just a few more pictures?

So out of the car we hopped, and these just so happen to be some of my favorites from our engagement shoot!

The lighting, the rustic backdrop really are quite nice. I think our engagement photos turned out pretty special. And isnt that was a photo shoot is all about? Capturing sweet moments on film! The perspective is just really unexpected as is the overall setting.

My advice regarding engagement shoots..

# 1 Bring a bottle of water after 3 hours of smiling and being 'on' I was seriously parched. Definitely hydrate youself so that you don't end up dehydrated! # 2 Bring a pair of cozy shoes to the shoot so that after a while you can slip your feet into some flats. By this time my feet were seriously killing me. Looking back I'm so glad I brought my cute little red flats- not only be they added a pop of color but because they really gave my feet a break.

# 3 Eat before you come to the engagement shoot! My now husband- Brad was seriously famished! To the point where we had to race over to the nearest pizza joint afterwards to partake in some serious eating.

# 4 Let go & have fun! After seeing so many incredible engagement shoots online, its easy to fall into the trap of trying to plan everything out. The props, the locations- etc. But what I found is that letting go of all of that & just showing up is actually quite fun. I had no idea where Renee was going to take us and that made for very cool pictures.

#5 Resist the urge to look at the camera. {for every shot} Being the poser that I typically am- this was kind of hard for me at first. My photographer told us to try to not look at her & to just sort of 'be in love.' Well, this was sort of strange at first- but by the nights end we were pretty comfortable & I think it really made for some very special photos.

So there you have it! My top 5 tips for engagement shoots!
Hope you enjoyed these photos by Renee Brock. Renee is an Atlanta based photographer who I chose because of her journalistic & story telling approach to taking photos.

I also chose to work with Renee because I really loved her eye for details & because I knew that based on her body of work that our wedding photographs were going to turn out incredible!

Oh & we both actually graduated from The University of Georgia's school of art- so that was definitely something I thought was neat!

So there you have it- A few pics from Part 1 of our engagement shoot! Can't wait to show you the other locations that she shot us in! Such a fun day!