Now that the excitement of our engagement has had a week and a half to sink in, we’ve started to think about planning a wedding. Prior to his proposal, Thomas and I had talked a lot about the future — kids, houses, careers — but every time getting married or a wedding came up, I usually blushed, smiled, and said, “Well you haven’t asked me yet, so let’s have that conversation when the time is right!” He agreed — we didn’t want to get ahead of ourselves. So once we were officially engaged, we asked each other all the burning wedding questions: where, when, how big? Luckily, we are on the same page.
Since Thomas hasn’t had a wedding before, I really just wanted to do what he wanted to do. If he had wanted to elope to a tropical island just the two of us, I would have been down for that. If he wanted a grande society wedding, I might have been cool with that too. Just because this isn’t my first rodeo, doesn’t mean he should miss out on fun things that regular weddings have. I’m not going to wear a purple dress : ) We hope to have a small-ish wedding with our families and closest friends. Really, all I care about is that the focus is on the two of us being in love and that the people we love are there to celebrate with us.
I really never thought I’d ever have another wedding, and it feels a bit surreal to have the task of planning one. At first, I didn’t think I would share any wedding planning details other than photos of the event after the fact, but so many of you have requested some wedding planning posts that I thought I might as well share the fun! For privacy’s sake, I’m going to do my best to keep the date and location a secret, but I’m sure one or the other will eventually get leaked : ) Or you might just figure it out based on my excitement level!
The plan is to get married this fall. That is SOON. I know! But we don’t like cold winter weather, and we don’t want to wait a year, so we are up for the challenge.
We considered doing a beach wedding, which is something I have always dreamed of, but Charlottesville is such a great wedding spot with all of its vineyards and beautiful scenery that we think it makes more sense to have it here. Thomas’ sister-in-law knows a lot about the industry and sent me some options last week, one, in particular, that seemed like the perfect place. We met with that venue and have a tentative available date picked out — we just need to iron out a few more details before officially signing a contract.
The first place I went for ideas was Pinterest, where I searched for “wedding”. Omg — so many options! Pinterest is great, though, because it enables you to quickly get a sense of the style you love.
If I had to use a few words to describe the ambiance we would like, they would be: intimate, romantic, natural, a touch rustic, enchanted, and outdoorsy, using muted colors like blues, greens, and grays.
I put together this board of ideas — follow along!
It’s so thoughtful of you to plan the wedding according to Thomas’ tastes! It’s going to be great!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
YES! I love reading about wedding plans! The fall is SO soon- makes it even more exciting!
Yes I flip flop between “I’m glad we don’t have to wait a year” to OMG it’s so soon and I don’t have anything to wear!! We keep reminding ourselves to just keep it simple.
Kath – SO exciting and fun! I can’t wait to follow your planning and share in your big day through your blog! You guys are truly “right” because your emphasis on the wedding is exactly where it should be. I felt exactly the same way when I married Steven. It wasn’t either of our first rodeos, and we cared about only joy, love and making a beautiful memory. Of course hindsight is 20/20 and all that, but I can tell you that was not the focus of my first wedding. I was young…..but I also wonder now if I should’ve heeded the fact that I was more caught up in tablecloths and flower arrangements than creating a celebration of love with my groom. Gosh, I really want to hope that isn’t a lesson that one has to learn the hard way! It will certainly be something I emphasize when Claire gets married one day! Annyyyyway….
I don’t know if/how much you’ll purchase yourself for the wedding, but if you don’t already know about it, the save-on-crafts.com site is awesome for all kinds of candles, lighting and all kinds of other supplies and “props” for ceremony and reception. I used them for my and Steven’s reception which we hosted and catered ourselves – neat stuff and awesome prices.
HAPPY PLANNING!!
XOXO
Melanie
<3
And thanks for the website tip!
Love everything wood on this page! http://www.save-on-crafts.com/woslcapl.html
OK still browsing – this site has everything at great prices!! Thank you!
I planned a whole big200 person wedding in. 6 months and it all worked out perfectly! I’m so happy for you and can’t wait to follow along with your planning!!
How exciting! Im getting married in exactly a month (!) and have some of the same pins pinned. I won’t be able to do it all, but the men are wearing navy tuxes and my sisters have blush dresses.
Have fun!
Share some pics from yours when it’s over!! Best wishes!
So exciting! No reason you can’t do whatever you want the second time around (especially since Thomas hasn’t done this before!). I’m with you on having a short engagement. Once you know, no reason to delay things!
I am so glad that pinterest didn’t exist when we got married – holy overwhelming! Good luck and I can’t wait to follow along!
A bit of bridal advice! If you do decide to go with the black and white anemone flowers, be careful with them! I loved them, but no one mentioned that the black centers are actually pollen that can coat your dress on the big day! Catastrophe averted for me, but wanted to share!
Thanks for the head’s up! I’m not sure which ones those are, but they must be something I pinned 🙂
I got married in Autumn, it really is my favourite season. The colours, the angle of the light, everything – its going to be a lovely day!
Yes!!! Thank you for including us in on the fun process. We are all so excited for you and want to celebrate over the internet in all your joy!! Thanks for letting us come along for the ride 🙂 Congratulations again!
I couldn’t be happier for you Kath. Many blessings to you and yours.
You don’t have to answer this if you’re not comfortable, but will Mazen’s dad be coming to the wedding?
No he won’t be coming
We had our wedding at a (super cute) restaurant’s rental room. It was awesome because we basically just picked the menu, picked how much we wanted to spend on the bar and showed up with a few things like flowers and favors and 100 of our closest friends and fam- we didn’t have to rent anything, hire anyone, etc. We made a spofity playlist and boom.. They had some outdoor space too. Highly recommend! 🙂
I love that. I might already be over my head!!
I planned my wedding in less than 4 months and while it was a whirlwind, it was wonderful and totally doable! I absolutely relied on my google spreadsheets. Good luck!
So exciting!! I definitely recommend using AllSeated for the floorplans, seating, guest list and planning! It’s a free tool too.
Thanks!
Long time reader- first time commenting! Congrats on everything. I feel like we have lived very parallel lives this past year. I also separated and divorced my husband after 10+ years together. Started dating (so many dating apps!) and met a great guy who I will be marrying on July 1st! It is true that when you know you know, and when you’re ready, why wait? We planned our little backyard wedding in 3 months. As soon as you have the venue, the rest can easily be done on a quick timeline. Good luck with all the plans, enjoy it all!
Oh yay! This is so fun to hear. Best wishes to you guys!
I came to your blog today hoping you’d be sharing more about the wedding! Congrats! I’m excited to follow along.
Although we were engaged for 9 years (we didn’t really care about having a wedding and already had joint bank accounts, insurance, etc), my husband and I planned our wedding in 2 months. It wasn’t totally conventional but not crazy weird either. We focused on making it FOR US, not doing things that you’re “supposed to do” just because. People still comment about how fun our wedding was! I’m looking forward to seeing how you plan to spend your special day!
Fun! My daughter was married in an Alexandria art gallery last year, a small ish simple wedding. I am sure you two will plan a perfect ceremony and party to reflect your personalities. Enjoy!!
I can’t decide if I’m glad or sad Pinterest wasn’t a thing when I got married, I love everything you pinned! Based on some stuff you pinned, I’m thinking you might like Donna Morgan for bridesmaid dresses. My friend got married two weeks ago, and had her ladies chose any dress they liked from a certain collection. It made for a perfectly cohesive yet varied look. And the dresses were so cute!
Looks like you have some great ideas already! Have you heard of EcoFlower? Most of their flowers are made from wood. They’re really pretty and seem like they might go with your theme. 🙂 I’ve never bought from them, but if I had a wedding to plan, I think I’d use them!
Cool i haven’t heard of them!
Also, they have some that look like they would match your colors, like the Misty Sage Bridal Bouquet.
I am very happy for you! He seems wonderful. Ain’t love grand?
Thank you for sharing some of the planning! I’ve read your blog for forever and am so excited for you! I think you’ve done a tremendous job with this blog and how you’ve shared personal information the past year. You’ve done so in such a classy way. Always a pleasure!
Thank you!
My husband and I became engaged in June and got married that same November. It wasn’t too small either, over 100 people. Everyone thought we were crazy, but we love the fall and didn’t want to wait over a year. It’s totally doable! I’m glad I didn’t have too much time to obsess and go nuts over details and options. <3
I’m in the middle of planning a wedding too and these comments have been so helpful! Tons of great website and decor suggestions. Thanks, commenters!
Kath, I’m in the middle of planning a wedding as well AND I’m marrying a man who hasn’t been married before — so I’m super-excited to follow along!
We are in the same boat!
I am celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary tonight, so it’s a nice coincidence to read this wedding post. The love is in the air! Congrats again and I can’t wait to follow along. It will be beautiful! If I could plan our wedding all over again, I would cut the guest list in half (ok maybe not that drastic, but still), remove a lot of the schedule and focus more on the day and the significance instead of worrying about all the small details.
I am curious about Matt, and how he is doing. I hope he’s found someone new to love as well (totally don’t have to answer if you’re uncomfortable).
I’ve always liked your style (guess I’m a southern girl at heart!) so look forward to following along on your planning. Thanks for allowing us to join in.