amberduke

6. Flower Girl My niece will be 8 months old and My SIL is carrying her down the aisle in this adorable romper that I got this from lovetobejewel on etsy And this sweet headband from adamsblankie on easy as well: 6. Save the Dates So I am a terrible bride and don't have a decent picture of my Save the Dates so I took a screen shot of an image my friend posted on instagram :/ eek! People raved about them and posted pictures of them on Instagram and Facebook...so it was worth the time to put them together (which I likely wouldn't have ordered had I know I was going to lace ribbon through 150 of these suckers! www.paper-source.com and the personalized stamps were from zazzle.com 7. Shoes and Veil I got these Badgley Mishka pumps ON SALE from Lord & Taylor online. Now I have never set foot in a L&T but they were $100 less than Nordstrom/Zappos AND then I got an extra 20% off! I got this veil made by kellyM5 on easy.com (and I promptly cut off the pearl strands sticking up!) While we are on the veil, I am hoping Adrian from Styling Trio can get my hair to look like this (I do have red hair that I have been growing out ALL YEAR- ugh): 8. Invitations Again, I am not the best bride in documenting paper, but I absolutely loved the invites that my mother designed/assembled with the help of Billy and my brother Cameron. More to come...

1. Location: Barcelo Maya Palace, Riviera Maya, Mexico Our family is from all over and Billy had his heart set on a February wedding (our anniversary is "sometime in February" haha). Since a February wedding in Chicago is out of the question, we thought "If everyone has to travel anyway, why not escape the cold for a week or two in Mexico?" We chose Barcelo Maya Palace because our family has vacationed there before and it would be family friendly for my cousin and niece. It is a truly beautiful place and I recall the first time I was there wondering: how do colors this rich exist in real life?! 2. The Ring: When Billy asked me what kind of ring I might want, I called my mom for advice. Her response was: "The one we already have for you!" My Great-Grandmother's rings were left to my mother and then me! My mother gave him the ring the next time we went to visit them in Texas (and he asked my father for permission). He loved it because it was free and I love it because it is beautiful and has a story! 3. Engagement Pictures: Billy's father is a portrait photographer, but a girlfriend from work (who's photo journalism style I really admire) volunteered to do our pictures as a wedding present. We went out for less than thirty minutes and then went to lunch! I was honestly more excited to spend time with her than take a ton a pictures. Her name is Kate DeLaRosa and her blog (including images I drool over in my spare time) is www.diapersandskinnyjeans.com Here are a few samples (she got these to me the next day): 4. My Dress My Maid of Honor, Lauren, sent me a picture of this dress and I knew immediately that I wanted it for my wedding, BUT of course the designer no longer made the dress! My mother and Lauren tracked down a size 10 (I am about a size 4 in this style) and we ordered it! It is currently being rebuilt to fit me and I couldn't love it more! It. Has. Pockets!!!! 5. Bridesmaid Dresses I grew up a dancing and was opposed to the bridesmaids look like they were in costume. I think this is what I was most picky about in ALL of the planning! I scoured Bhldn and Nordstrom and ModCloth and all of the other sites for ideas. I ended up with a mix that I love and makes them look/feel pretty. My mother and I paid for the dresses, so even if they hate them: it doesn't matter! haha This has their sizes- oops, and Briana's changed BUT you get the jist! to be continued...

Don't be intimidated @kmmathes! This is all about sharing the love and motivation! It helped for me to make a list of what I have already done so that my list of what still needs to be done seemed more manageable!

@natalieblev I used metallic paint type pens and it disguised my half-print/half-cursive quite nicely! Haha

Thanks ladies!

So is the palapa still not up? Oh well! Random thought: Since my ceremony is at 2pm and dinner/reception isn't until 5:30/6pm should I do the cocktail hour after the ceremony @2:30 or wait until 4:30/5:00? Thoughts?

Wooo! We are on our way ladies! We did J.Crew for the groomsmen. Not full suits, just grey slim cut pants and the pre-washed slim cut button ups.