I Ordered my Wedding Dress!!!

There’s never a good time to just sit down and do the thing that you’ve been obsessing about for weeks, thinking about regularly for a few years, and dreaming about since you were a little girl... but I’ve done it; y’all, I ordered my wedding dress!

Well.... I’ve set the wheels in motion for getting it made. I’m working with a fairly new custom wedding dress company called Anomalie. The whole premise of the company is cutting out all of the middle men and designer titles that send wedding dress prices through the roof. They work directly with the manufacturers and make sure you are part of every moment of the process.

I had a design consultation call about a month ago with my Anomalie stylist and we went through a collection of inspiration photos I had uploaded to my online “look book,” as well as all of my accompanying hyper-detailed captions. I even notated things on the photos themselves, with arrows indicating where I think the neckline should cut, how the drape should fall, things I liked or didn't like about the dress in the photo, etc. It seems like you can be as specific or as broad as you’d like (I was QUITE specific).

I’ve also commissioned them to design my veil! Since I’ve looked at so many bridal inspiration photos, I feel like I’ve gotten really specific (a nice word here for “picky”) about what I’m looking for.

Next, came the actual ordering and payment. Once that was officially done, they sent me fabric swatches in the mail and put me in touch with a local tailor to go get some measurements taken.

I don’t want to reveal which fabrics I’m working with specifically (my fiance is a regular reader, sweet man!), but I can show you a shot of the inner lining of the dress. All of the fabric samples came on these cute little cards, with a hand written note from my stylist (also a Rebecca), and little gummy candies as well! After thinking it over pretty obsessively for about a week, I made my selection and notified my stylist.

In the meantime, I went into the local tailor and got my measurements taken. All of these final decisions on how long the skirt will need to be got me thinking about my shoes... but that’s a story for another post (stay tuned!).

My stylist sent me several photos of different kinds of lace and I am able to select exactly where and how they are used! I love how hands-on the process is!

And on one rainy afternoon, after a long day of dancing and an evening of teaching ahead, I got a momentous, exciting surprise that brightened my whole day: my design sketch! I wish so much that I could share it with you all but I can’t risk my groom-to-be catching a glimpse. I really love what they sketched for me and I am SO excited to continue forward into the production process.

So as of now my dress is officially in production and I will get photos and updates as they begin to construct the dress! I’m so excited to see my dress come into existence! I’ll be sure to keep you all posted every step of the way!

Here’s to 2018!

I absolutely can’t pass up sharing my special New Year’s celebrations (even though, I realize, it is a little belated)!

First off, feeling especially domestic from the holidays and from a book that I recently bought (“All in Good Taste” from Kate Spade), I decided to spend some time reorganizing and sprucing up the house! With many new Christmas goodies, this was not a difficult task!

I tackled our bookshelf first. I displayed all of our wedding planning things, cookbooks, new recipe box, and some special serveware, both old and new!

I also made a cute little display in the bathroom with several gifts and cosmetic products arranged just so.

I won’t bore you with my other mini-projects, but all of this domestically-motivated inspiration was brought to a head when my future-maid-of-honor asked me to host a pre-NYE-party-party / birthday-get-together for her! I was thrilled and got straight to work!

Because of the short notice I decided to throw together a few simple snacks and sips. We had champagne, a hot cocoa bar, and stovetop popcorn! A little bit shabby chic (the new Kate Spade book surely inspired me!).

(popcorn aftermath) 

For me, party planning includes lettering, of course. I made sure to label all of the mugs for the hot cocoa station...

And “champagne glasses” (aka cute jars because I didn’t have nearly enough champagne glasses for the occasion)!

I made some festive signs and displays....

(the pearls are my favorite detail) 

...put out our most festive, black and gold decor...

...and set the mood with lots of candles!

I even made a little Hot Toddy gift package for the lady of the evening! It was fun to put together the instructions and gather all the supplies: a flask of bourbon, a lemon, a bunch of black and chai teas, a petite jar of honey, and some spicy garnishes (cinnamon stick, whole cloves, allspice berries, and candied ginger).

I wore my most garish gold sequined skirt (an old hand-me-down from a friend), lit all the candles, and got ready for the guests!

We ended up having a great time. It was just the right setting to spend time and laugh together! Our fish were very hospitable, and everyone seemed to have a good time before heading off to the more involved parties.

I was so happy to be able to host everyone! Afterwards I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I stayed home with Ben and we did our own private countdown at midnight. I got a little teary as we listened to a classical rendition of “Auld Lang Syne” and watched fireworks out the front door.

2018 is a big year for us. Many exciting things ahead and I’m so glad to have some great people by my side for it all!

A Christmas Post in Mid-January? Better Late than Never!

I’ve been out of town for a lot of January, so I figured I’d FINALLY make a Christmas post! Back to wedding planning soon... not to worry!

I really dived into making the house festive this year! I tried to use the things we have and make really minimal purchases to try to get the spirit of the season in our home!

First up, I styled our mantle. I found an old red and green ribbon that I twisted and curved around our regular items. I also bought some red and green fairly lights to make the whole thing a little more dreamy! I made sure our festive candles were on display and topped everything off with a few bows! We set the mood in our little living room by setting our accent lights to red and our fish lights to a festive green!

Speaking of bows... I went a little crazy with the bows! Each houseplant got a bow, plus jars, and even kitchen appliances!

I even put together a bow-embellished hot cocoa station for easy access on cold winter evenings! It was a delicious, cozy treat!

Also in the kitchen, we broke out some fancy Christmas towels and red and green oven mitts!

I put up all of the Christmas cards that we received this year on the fridge, and strung up a bunch of old ones above our kitchen table.

Something that was to special to lay out on the table was this festive table runner that my grandmother quilted by hand! Not wanting to risk ruining it with a single clumsy-moment spill, I hung it up and put it prominently on display in our living room.

One favorite detail I like to put out is the traditional fish-themed Christmas book that I made for Ben a few years ago: “‘Twas the Night Before Fishmas.” It’s exactly as cheesy as it sounds. I recently inherited this little precious moments angel that I put by this festive tin (full of ornament hooks) and eventually paired both with a scented wax melter that I got during a dirty Santa exchange!

Next, the Nutcracker station! I’ve had this little French nutcracker for a few years now and decided to get a bowl full of shelled walnuts, a tradition I’ve noticed several times at Ben’s family’s home. I’ve stationed both of these next to a dried bouquet that Ben got for me to celebrate our “one month since we said ‘I love you.’” Love keeping these little memories in my everyday space and consciousness!

I even got little stockings for our fishes! They are basically our kids.

We had recently lined our bedroom ceiling with lights, and decided to hang up some ornaments to make it feel especially Christmas-y!

And FINALLY, the tree! We found this cute little sprig and loved it at once!

We wrapped it in ribbon, some more fairly lights, and a couple special ornaments (the first of what’s bound to be an extensive collection). We topped it off with our ridiculous penguin friend, who never fails to make us laugh!

I put together a pretty bomb Christmas playlist (almost 100 tunes) and listened to it incessantly!

A special Christmas present was getting to spend some time with my dad during the holiday season! He came to Nashville for a weekend and we enjoyed catching up and spending some quality time together.

I made the extremely-dad-friendly sausage pinwheels that Ben’s dad always makes for us when we visit. Needless to say, my dad loved them.

We enjoyed going on a whiskey distillery tour together, went to The Frist Center for Visual Arts and saw the two exhibitions there, and had a very relaxed dinner at a local brewery and restaurant.

The next day, we trekked out to the beautiful Opryland Hotel and walked around for HOURS looking at the Christmas decorations, chatting, sipping, and eating. It was a great time, and I’ve never been able to make it out there during the holiday season, so it was really a treat! Overall we had a really wonderful weekend together, catching up, chatting about wedding plans, and watching some fun and hilarious movies together!

In preparation for the big day, I lettered and made a fun “To/From” stamp...

...and made sure to incorporate lettering every chance I could when gift wrapping.

After a long month of getting festive Ben and I were able to spend sometime at Ben’s family’s home for Christmas Day!

We had a great time relaxing together by the fire and spending time with loved ones. I received the traditional handmade stocking from Ben’s mother; if someone is officially joining the family they are gifted with this special tradition. I absolutely love mine, and was tricked into discovering it unexpectedly. Grateful to have this special memory recorded for years to come!

There were endless cookies and snacks and a really delicious array of menu items for our fancy Christmas Eve dinner! Ben and I accompanied his parents to the midnight candlelight service and got to see Ben’s mom perform a solo near the end! It was a very special evening.

Christmas Day was relaxed and joyful. Instead of busying myself with all of the cooking, setting up, and arranging that usually comes with Christmas time, I really took some time this year to rest, recuperate, and spend quality time with Ben and his family. I had a long Skype date with my family and got to talk to my grandparents over FaceTime as well! I continued my family’s tradition of watching “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as well.

Overall it was a really lovely holiday and I’m grateful for every special moment and memory!