Five Whole Years!

I couldn't be more honored to share that Ben and I got to celebrate five years together earlier this month! Rather than from our first date, we technically celebrate our dating "anniversary" on the day that we first said "I love you!"

I ended up buying a card this year, which I believe is a first because I usually love to DIY everything! I was sure to still letter the envelope myself!

I got Ben a nice watch that he was looking at as a wedding accessories. He got me MANY small items, most of which will be displayed and used on our wedding day!

One particularly special gift that Ben got me was a prompted journal to help document our love story! We paged through it together on the couch and got a sense of the scale of our commitment to each other... it was so special!

We got to spend some nice, quality time together at a restaurant that we had never been to before called House of Cards. It's located in downtown Nashville, hidden beneath the Johnny Cash museum, and is set up like a hidden old-time magician's club. Our entrance into the restaurant really set the tone for the night: a descending stairwell lined with stones, leading into a red curtain-lined hallway. Dark mood-lighting, a mysterious air about the place: the atmosphere and ambiance were absolutely top notch!

There was a formal dress code, so everyone was dressed up and fancy. There were two running magic tables throughout the night: sleight of hand card tricks and things like that. They had a photographer roaming around that took your photo and printed it out for you before the end of the night.

The food was yummy, but the scene and entertainment were extraordinary. We were surprised to find out at the end of the night that we ALSO got to go to a more formal magic show in a small theater in the restaurant. The magician was funny and very impressive.

After the show, we sat at the bar and ate dessert, before wandering around and discovering an outdoor terrace. We really felt transported to a different world, and it made our anniversary so special!

I'm so grateful to have this special guy in my life! Truly, he is the best, and I can't wait to marry him this summer! Here's to five years and many, many more!

Bridal Shower #1: Bridal Tea in Tennessee!

Y'all, my first bridal shower was a BLAST! Bridal Tea, like British high tea, was the theme, and it was such a dream!

I was able to stay at Ben's parent's house for the weekend, and my mom flew in from Wisconsin (despite a treacherous mid-April Midwestern winter storm!) for the special weekend. We all got to spend lots of time together talking about wedding plans, catching up, and enjoying each other's company. On the morning of the shower, we enjoyed breakfast together and got ready for the event!

I wore a white dress with a delicately intricate lace overlay outlined in black. This is actually the same dress I used for our engagement photos... there's still a little bit of practical Midwesterner in me!

We headed over to the shower and were absolutely captivated by the scene! Everything was laid out so beautifully and so thoughtfully prepared.

We spent some time out on the back porch until everybody showed up...

It meant so much to have my friends from Nashville road trip down for the day!

We ate a delicious spread of food: scones, cheesestraws, tea sandwiches, cucumber nibbles, ham biscuit sandwiches, fresh fruit, chocolate covered strawberries, macarons, lemon-raspberry cupcakes, peach & pear bellinis, and tea of course!

I got to sit in the seat of honor...

...and opened SO many presents!

It was so wonderful to be surrounded by so many wonderful women who support me.

I got several messages and gifts from faraway friends, and it meant so much to be in their thoughts on this very special day.

It was such a treat to be able to spend time with everyone and celebrate this very special time in my life. I couldn't be more grateful!

Wedding Planning Updated: Only a Few Months Left

I have so many things to update on the blog because things are moving so quickly now that we are in the final few months before the wedding. I’ll fill you in on a few:

First, Ben and I met with our wedding day coordinator and chatted through some details of our day. We almost have our master timeline finished up and got to talk through ideas and suggestions. She is very well organized and plus she has worked with our caterer many times before, so she will absolutely be in-the-know about everything going on with our big day!

We’ve scheduled a few other meet-ups with some of our vendors: a venue walk-through with our coordinator and DJ, a floral supplier walk-through with our florist, and a coffee date and chat with our photographer!

I’ve finally booked my hair and makeup artist and have a trial scheduled with her! I've been very vigilant about my skincare lately and even treated myself to a facial for the first time! It was a lovely spa day and I'm excited for the treat of getting my hair and makeup done professionally on the big day!!

I’ve also been hard at work on our invitations and all of the various design and paper elements that go along with putting the suite together: multiple different stamps and inks, proofs of what our final prints will look like, and addressing each envelope individually with great care! I sent them out only a few days ago and couldn't be more excited. It was a mammoth of a task, but I was so excited to be working on them and have felt so much joy in sharing my hard work!

I’ve done another walk-through of our rental supplier’s showroom, and it was fun to definitively pick our colors and special items! I’ve also been on the lookout every time I have a chance to walk through the mall for a couple remaining special items for our big day.

One of these special items is our toasting flutes! We found some gorgeous crystal flutes on a website that also did engraving. We had these special flutes monogrammed with our married initial and are so excited to use them for our big day!

I’ve taken care of ordering votive candles and small items like that, but I’m trying to put most of my focus into bigger-picture components and vendor communication, as well as more time-pressed tasks.

I’ll keep you all posted every step of the way, and thanks to those of you who read my posts and write me!

Check Off the Cake!

We have officially booked our cake baker! The wedding cake is such an iconic, whimsical, and sweet (no pun intended) part of the day, and I’m so excited to have a good idea of what our delectable tower of sweetness will look and taste like!

After our tasting back in December, we were so enthusiastic about our baker that we knew right away that we wanted to work with her. After working out a few logistical components, we were able to officially bring her on board for our special day!

After sifting through all sorts of Pinterest inspiration, we came up with an idea that we love. We have a lovely, three-tiered design planned, possibly incorporating our accent color in a very trend-forward ombré, but we have yet to make the final decision on a few ideas that we have been tossing around. We are definitely planning on saving the top tier to share on our first anniversary together!

Check out my wedding cake inspiration Pinterest board!

It's so exciting to see these special, iconic components of our day fit into place one-by-one! Thanks for coming along with me on this ride: I couldn't be happier to be planning our big day!