A Stitch Fix Note | Please Stylist, Pretty Please

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH MY STYLIST AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK ABOUT MY STITCH FIX BOXES. 

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO SIGN UP

5 Tips: Elegant Engagement Photos

Andrew (my fiance) and I had so much fun getting dolled up and taking photos to celebrate our recent engagement. It was very important to both of us that we had photos that would stand the test of time and be special for years to come. This blog post will touch on the 5 things that helped Andrew and I achieve the engagement photos of our dreams! The goal of this post is to help you ladies create the engagement shoot of your dreams that will produce photos that you will love as much as Andrew and I love our photos!

To view our engagement photos, click HERE to view the BEAUTIFUL work of Tank Goodness Photography!!

ONE: Find your inspiration. If you don't have a secret Pinterest board. You are missing out. I found that I was able to communicate what I wanted from the shoot, because I had done my research! My board was previously secret, but for the sake of this Blog post, I've released it to the general Pinterest and Blogging world! You'll find the widget below-go ahead and take a look!

Follow Olivia's board Simply Southern Engagement Photos on Pinterest.

TWO: Your photographer is EVERYTHING. Andrew and I selected Tank Goodness Photography as our photographers (husband & wife team)! We have a wedding package with them that includes a variety of photo shoots, including the wedding day! I knew instantly when I met with Travis (over Skype) that he and his wife were the photographers of our dreams! Not only are their photos beautiful quality, but their willingness to tailor the style of the shoot towards our vision was CRUCIAL. If you're in the Austin, TX area and looking for a great photographer duo, I HIGHLY recommend Travis and Nina!

THREE: Take the time to plan your outfits. I would give yourself 2 months to pull together your wardrobe. The last thing you want to do is have to do one big shop to pull together 2-3 outfits. I purchased my clothing over the course of about 6 months. The biggest stress clothing wise was the iconic Southern dress I wanted for the more "formal" photos. You would think that this would be an easy task in the state of Texas, but it WAS NOT. I spent countless hours online shopping to find the perfect dress. I found my dress at ASOS online. I had never shopped online with ASOS before, but now I am hooked. Their line of Southern inspired dresses are impossible to ignore. I wish I had more than one hanging in my closet right now.

FOUR: You took the time to meticulously plan your outfits, now please don't forget your man! Andrew has wonderful taste in clothing, but the man was lacking a sports coat. It would have been impossible to achieve the look we were going for without a sports coat. The moral of this bullet point is to remember that you aren't the only one who needs to look fabulous. If you are going for a certain theme, you need to make sure that both of you touch on the theme. We ended up getting a great deal of classic sports coats at Men's Warehouse. We also splurged on a new pair of black boots for Andrew (he is also wearing these with his suit at the wedding). Not only did he look EXTREMELY handsome ladies, but he felt SUPER comfortable in his own skin and his new outfits!

FIVE: Location, location, location. My maid of honor helped me search high and low in Huntsville, TX for the perfect southern location. We ended up selecting Whistler Bed & Breakfast as the setting of our Southern photos. I know that a big part of our beautiful Southern photos was setting the stage with something that had stood the test of time for many years already. The Whistler Bed & Breakfast is a gorgeous estate located downtown Huntsville, TX that boasts a rustic elegance that was just SIMPLY SOUTHERN.

I hope this helps, ladies! 

5 Tips for Meeting With Your Wedding Planner

As many of you all know, I am in the midst of planning a wedding. I am very excited to share that I will be beginning a STREAMLINE YOUR WEDDING series that will be sparked by my experiences as a wedding planning bride.

Originally, I didn't feel like I needed to hire a "wedding planner," but I quickly realized that I would require at LEAST a day of coordinator at the reception venue. I have been planning my wedding since I have been 5 years old, so I was on the hunt for a day of coordinator that would provide services beginning at least a few days before the wedding. Additionally, I was not sure if I would be able to find an individual I would click with and who would take the time to appreciate my eccentricities.

I HAVE FOUND HER!! This morning I met with THE MOST FABULOUS event planner in all of Central Texas. (Karla McNeill). We spent 2 1/2 hours discussing the details of the special day beginning with waking up the morning of the wedding. After my phenomenal meeting with Karla, I have compiled 5 simple tips to help make meeting with your wedding planner a fun and productive event!

5 Tips for Meeting With Your Wedding Planner

1. Reputation is EVERYTHING. Contact wedding planners who are recommended by friends, family, or other vendors. My day event planner was verbally recommended to me 5+ times by various vendors and I know a few acquaintances who have worked with her in the past. Everyone who has worked with Karla provide high praise and "would never recommend anyone else to their clients." Receiving advice from vendors you already trust helps narrow down the pool of potential day of event coordinators. 
2. Prepare a wedding binder: Having a list of vendors, contracts, ideas, and all other things "wedding" is a great resource when you are meeting with your event coordinator. My wedding binder has several scraps of paper stuffed in the pockets with random ideas and things I want to include along with typed graphics and charts to help organize the information. There is no RIGHT or WRONG way to pull this information together, it just needs to be done. 
3. Bring someone you trust along for the initial consult: Today I brought my mom and sister (MOH #1). These are two of the people I trust most in this world. I know that they would never allow me to place my trust in someone who they didn't trust. They are great people to lean on for advice, but also they are great people to evaluate how you click with your wedding coordinator. Remember ladies, this is the person who will be RUNNING YOUR WEDDING. 
4. Don't be afraid to be bold and creative: It's more than OK to have a theme that is unconventional as long as you have some ideas (even if they aren't concrete) about how you would like to execute your visions. Even though Pinterest is now the "wedding design bible," it is OK to break out of the box and try something you have never seen before. Most likely, it will be your favorite part of your special day and your wedding coordinator will love working with an "out of the box" bride. 
5. KNOW YOUR NON-NEGOTIABLES: For me, my non-negotiable item was integrating Samson into the special day in some form or fashion. It is important to me to have photos of him "with the guys" getting ready for the wedding. EVERYONE I have mentioned this to in the past has scoffed and given me the "crazy dog lady" look, but NOT Karla. She was able to work out the logistics to make this happen without overwhelming my perfect little yellow buddy. There are other things she is working her magic to make happen, but this is definitely one of my favorites. 

I hope you ladies find this to be a helpful tool in preparing for interviewing and meeting with potential wedding coordinators to help coordinate your special day. My hope is that this will help you be able to kick back and enjoy the day celebrating your commitment with your husband in front of God, family, and friends.

Please stay tuned for more posts to come in the STREAMLINE YOUR WEDDING series!