Do You Remember Your First Date?

July 2016

Do you remember your first date? Just thinking of mine gives me the jitters and makes my stomach a little queasy…ha! Such a strange mix of anticipation, awkwardness and a fun kind of “newness.” I remember mine from start to finish – from the moment he picked me up from theater rehearsal (I was prepping for our high school production of Chicago – so he had to pick me up on campus) to when we got out of the car and shared our first kiss before he walked me to the door.

It’s funny to think that my first and last kiss will be with Blake. Yep – Blake was my very first date and very first kiss! (Well, “real” kiss – I’d kissed boys for roles in plays, but not with someone I liked like that). He was 16 and I was 17 (proud late bloomer over here, ha!).

((^^That’s one of my favorite photos of us when we were teenagers…We look SO young!))

That Time I Asked My Best Guy Friend To Be My “Bridesman”

June 2016

Hello there! I am super excited about today’s post because I’m sharing a personal essay about a topic I feel very strongly about. Fresh off my bachelorette trip to Costa Rica, the ladies over at Style Me Pretty reached out and asked if I’d write a post on the topic of having a guy in my bridal party (my friend Ben) – and of course I jumped at the opportunity. Today I’m giving you a glimpse at one of my longest and most precious friendships (seriously, we go way back!) and I’m so honored to use this space to provide progressive thinking when it comes to breaking certain traditions, whether wedding related or not!

Finding Your Sources of Happiness (…And Unhappiness)

June 2016

This morning as I was listening to the radio (big fan of talk radio over here), the hosts were chatting about sources of unhappiness – and the main one being comparison to others. Due to the nature of my career (blogging), let’s just say that small bit of information hit home for me because I am immersed in the strange world of social media daily – at all hours of the day – “social media never sleeps” they say…and it’s absolutely true. I’ll admit, even when I feel really great and full of confidence (which I actively have to make an effort to stay in this mindset), simply seeing someone else’s gorgeous, perfectly cropped and filtered Instagram photos immediately goes to my head and that confidence level (already in constant limbo) drops to the floor. Anyone else get this way?

Rehearsal Dinner Outfit Ideas

May 2016

Happy weekend, ladies! Although I’m in Europe for the next week, I’ve prepped quite a few posts to go up while I’m away…and I am SO excited to start off with my latest post for Style Me Pretty featuring wedding day rehearsal dinner outfit ideas! (You can check out that post on SMP here).

Last month I ventured to the gorgeous Contemporary Austin venue to shoot a few fabulous looks with one of my good friends and super talented wedding photographer, Kathryn Frazer Photography – so take a peek at 3 gorgeous looks for all the bride-to-be’s out there!

Loot Vintage Decor (Swoon Alert!)

May 2016

Happy weekend, loves! I am thrilled to share today’s post because it is dear to my heart to feature a local Austin company that I admire deeply! As y’all know, I am a big fan of vintage goods and often speak to being able to carry my grandmother’s vintage handbags or my mom’s jewelry from when she was a teenager – there’s just something so special and priceless about wearing pieces with such rich history and stories behind them. Thus, it’s no surprise that as I was in the thick of wedding planning, everything that seemed to catch my attention was that beautiful whimsical, vintage feel – and I quickly realized after doing some research around Austin, there was a company that understood this love fully and set out to make this vision a reality at events all over town.

I introduce to you, Loot Vintage! Enjoy scrolling through the photos below (hey, I warned y’all there would be lots of swooning in this post, ha!) and read through an interview with the fabulous co-owner, Rhoda, at the end of this post – trust me, you’re in for a treat!

Ps. The photo above and directly below are actually our wedding venue!! Eek, SO gorgeous!! Can’t wait until September!

LUNA Bar Shindig Recap!

March 2016

Hello gals! I am super excited about today’s post because for one, I had a ton of fun at this event and two, I am always happy to spread the word about amazing brands that care about their customers (…and products, of course! …And give me fuel to keep going these days – literally I have been LIVING off LUNA Bars lately..ah!). Last week I partnered with LUNA Bar to host a fab event at Embellish Nail Salon…and to say the least, it was SO much fun! (…Can you tell? And hey, that big ‘ol cheesy smile is not from the vino I drank that night either, ha!). Above you’ll see me (being a goof, what’s new? 😉 ) with Jeanine, the wonderful woman from the LUNA team who put this event together (…and did an incredible job, by the way!).

A big thank you to LUNA Bar for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

The ‘ol Birthday Post! 26 Things About Me

March 2016

Hello there! Today is a very special day because I turn 26 and more importantly, 26 marks a very big year for me! (Ps. BIG news ahead!!) …So, I decided to share 26 things you may not know about me because for one, social media doesn’t give me a ton of space to write (…and y’all know I love me some novels haha) and two, who doesn’t love lists?! 😉 Thanks for stopping by to read this, writing is really my first love (journalism grad over here) so these types of posts are a lot of fun to create – hope you enjoy!!

Bridal Lingerie with Nordstrom

March 2016

Hi there gals! Can’t believe we’ve already hit spring this year…which also means: wedding season is quickly approaching! Whether you’re the bride-to-be or you’re the one attending the showers and events leading up the big day, I’m partnering with Nordstrom to talk about their bridal lingerie selection! (Because let’s be honest….lingerie showers are pretty darn fun, especially when giving or receiving pretty little things like the ones I picked out above).

**Scroll over the images above & click to shop!

A big thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

Save The Dates With Minted

March 2016

This has been a long time in the works and I’m excited to share that our Save The Dates have finally arrived! After scoping out a few different websites that could provide the perfect design and font we had in mind with our photos, we finally found the prettiest cards from Minted! (And by “we finally found..” I really mean I scoured the Internet and then got everything together and showed Blake the final product, ha! Let’s just say he’s not as into this whole planning thing as I am..!). 😉

I Said Yes To The Dress! BHLDN Houston Bridal Salon

February 2016

Hi gals! Eek, I could not be more excited to finally share my wedding dress shopping ins and outs with you! After an iffy start to dress shopping in Austin (let’s just say I had no idea what I was getting myself into!), I finally found THE bridal salon that felt right and had a selection of dresses that was definitely more suitable for my style and what I had in mind for our “big day” – at BHLDN in Houston! BHLDN is Anthropologie’s bridal boutique…hence the stunning storefront and perfectly whimsical, lovely vibe of not only the dress selections, but the decor, too. Needless to say, I felt right at home in this store!

Given that I’m in Austin, my mom and I actually made an appointment at BHLDN a few months ago and took a little weekend road trip (it’s a 3-hour drive) to stay with my aunt who lives in Galveston (a little beach city about 45 minutes from Houston) and made plans to enjoy a relaxing girls weekend together and of course, head over to BHLDN for my appointment on a Saturday afternoon. (Ps. Make your appointment weeks in advance, this store fills up quick!!). It was so nice for my aunt to come along, too, we had THE best time and our first bridal associate, Paige, was such a gem and so helpful along the way! (Seriously…get us gals sipping champagne during a sappy occasion such as wedding dress shopping = we were in for a good time, ha!). It was during this appointment that I found THE dress of my dreams – happy tears, hugs and all that good stuff ensued once I made my choice!

SHOP THE DRESSES

SHOP THE ACCESSORIES

SHOP DECOR

A big thank you BHLDN for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.

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