Our Wedding: Flowers!

Let me begin by saying I truly could not be more in love with how the florals at our wedding turned out.  Yes,  am "that girl" who thinks that neutrals are the most beautiful colors in the world, and wanted to show off my love for them in a fun and beautiful way. I definitely think we succeeded!! To lots of people, neutral flowers may sound boring or blah, but personally I think they turned out to be beyond gorgeous. All of our florals were through our wedding planner at A Charleston Bride where they do all the florals in house.

My Bouquet

A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao

The flowers of my bouquet were the first example of our florals I saw all day and I fell in love instantly!  To make my bouquet extra special and personal, we had lace from my mother's wedding dress and my mother's rosary wrapped around the stems. 

 Bridesmaids Bouquets

A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

For the overall decor, we layered different textures, sizes, heights, and shapes to create a vibrant space. 

A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

 A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

 A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

 A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

 A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

 A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

 A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

A Charleston Bride, Photo by Virgil Bunao 

I hope you enjoyed this post! Have a wonderful Thursday!

xo,

Grace

Ceremony Venue: Holy Spirit Catholic Church

Reception Venue: The River Course

Florals: A Charleston Bride

Coordination: A Charleston Bride

Photography: Virgil Bunao 

Our Wedding: Paper!

Today's post marks the first in a series about Our Wedding!! For those of you who don't know, I got married in January of this year on Kiawah Island SC. It was the best day of our lives and I'm really excited to finally share some of the little details of it with you. Throughout the entire planning process, we worked so closely with our incredible wedding planner Haley at A Charleston Bride, so I have to give tons of credit for the wonderful design work and execution to her and the ladies there for every single detail!!

Invitation

Studio R Design, Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones, Photo: Instagram

Wedding printed materials were one of the design elements we were most excited about.  My mom has always told me that the invitation sets the tone for a wedding, and I couldn't agree more. After all,  it is usually the first insight your guests get into the style/formality/mood of the event.

Invitation

Studio R Design, Photo by: Virgil Bunao, Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones

We used Studio R Design for all of our paper materials, and I couldn't have loved them more!! (Other than the Save the Dates which we ordered through Minted). The ladies there designed our custom logo and used it on many of our printed materials as well.

It was important to me to have a formal invitation to reflect our formal wedding, so we opted for extra thick paper, the traditional separate reception card apart from the invitation, and response card, all in gold and ivory. The envelope liner we used was a robins egg blue.

Invitation

Studio R Design, Photo By: Virgil Bunao, Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones

Wedding Ceremony Program 

Studio R Design, Photo By: Virgil Bunao, Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones

Cocktail Napkins

Studio R Design, Photo By: Virgil Bunao, Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones

Welcome Bags

Studio R Design, Photo By: Virgil Bunao, Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones

In our welcome bags, we included a custom golf ball, cheese zingers, two cookies, and custom logo water bottle with jute tote bag. I loved how they turned out!!

I hope you enjoyed this first post about our wedding! Stay tuned for more to come and let me know if you have any questions about vendors we used, the process of picking things out, or anything you'd like to see or hear about :)

xo, 

Grace

Event Design: A Charleston Bride, Photography: Virgil Bunao, Printed Materials: Studio R Design

Getting into the Christmas Spirit! (A little early)

With all the busyness and travel going on in our lives right now and in the coming weeks, my fiancé and I took the last 24 hours to really start getting into the spirit of the holiday season!  As I write this, I am listening to my freshly downloaded "Christmas At Downton Abbey" album and it is just as delightful as it sounds like it would be! I am currently wearing newly purchased Disney Christmas flannel Pajamas, and sipping on my first non Starbucks "home made" hot chocolate since last year, pretending it is not currently 80 degrees where I am in Florida.

Last night, we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom and it was our first time back there since we got engaged last January. It was such a fun night and we enjoyed every moment! Of course, we went back to the exact spot where Ben proposed and the rush of excitement hit me all over again.

Times like last night remind me how important the sharing of tradition is to me. Even though Ben and I have been together almost 8 years now, we have so many exciting new traditions to begin and experience together as we start our new lives together; the holidays are an excellent reminder of that!

Speaking of tradition, my outfit last night was full of it! Growing up, my mom used to take my sister and I to Old Navy every year for most holidays so that we could buy a fun seasonal t-shirt to wear. I always loved getting to pick out a Christmas one and that is a tradition that I haven't stopped! The shirt I wore last night, that says "Meet Me Under The Mistletoe" was my purchase last year from Old Navy's holiday tee shop. These are the ones I am eyeing for this year :

                  "You Wish"                    Pray For Snow"               "Mickey Mouse"         "Merry and Bright"

I hope you all had fantastic Mondays and are off to great enjoy a great week!

xo, 

Grace

Bridal Shower Style!

Hello and happy Sunday! I hope that you have all had great weekends-- mine has been so amazing!
I flew back to my hometown, Charlotte NC, for my Bridal Shower and it was even more special than I expected. It was hosted by my soon-to-be aunt, and my fiancé's grandmother; they (along with  my future Mother in Law) were so thoughtful in every little detail and planned such a fabulous day, making me feel so honored and loved.

When I found out about the shower, I immediately started thinking  stressing out  about what I was going to wear. Initially, I really wanted to wear a dress in an off white or cream color, but had such a hard time finding one. I began to admit defeat on that mission, and instead became obsessed with trying to re-create an Olivia Palermo Wedding separates moment. After a few weeks of searching for the perfect cashmere sweater and flowy skirt, I had an epiphany that I was being a bit unreasonable… I am no Carolina Herrera!

So, literally the day before the shower, I found myself with my mom at the Kate Spade store in Houston (best Kate Spade store EVER by the way… it is massive) with only a few hours to try and create the perfect bridal shower look. Thankfully, my mom is my best shopping partner and extremely helpful picking out things and giving advice. I tried on a bunch of outfits, but ended up settling on classic a blush pink dress, berry and glitter heels, and green and pink earrings (loaned to me by my bridesmaid, Laura).

Dress: Kate Spade  Shoes: Kate Spade (not available online) Similar Here Earrings: Kate Spade Similar

I am obsessed with these shoes! I almost bought some nude pumps to go with the dress, but the second I put these on I knew that it was just meant to be. The glitter heel matches the color of the dress perfectly and I think it gave my outfit a bit of a happy surprise element.  They make me feel happy too, and to me that is the most important thing. 

So, I didn't end up in off-white but I love how my outfit turned out, and I felt very "me" and comfortable the entire day. 

Here are some iPhone shots of the shower taken by my future Mother in Law if you can see what a beautiful job the hosts did! I am so incredibly thankful for them and our guests… it is such an incredible thing to feel supported and loved. 

Have a great Sunday night!!

xo,

Grace

Favorite Charleston Restaurants!

Hi again from Charleston! I hope you all have been having great weeks so far. My mom and I are having an incredible time here in South Carolina. Today we went to our future wedding reception venue and got to do an extensive tasting of possible food options, and then went to the bakery our wedding planner (A Charleston Bride --check them out) suggested to do a cake tasting! I am sad that my fiancé "missed out" on this, but at the same time I'm excited because he will get to be surprised by the deliciousness!!

By the way, the bakery we are using, Ashely Bakery  is fantastic and I really recommend them if you ever need a bakery in the Charleston SC area!

AMAZING cake tasting! So hard to pick just a couple! 

Anyway, today I want to feature three of my favorite restaurants in Charleston.  There are so many incredible restaurants here, but these three would definitely be in my top 5! Here they are (in no particular order)

1. F I G 

 (Food is Good)

Fig

Incredibly warm, inviting, comfortable, unpretentious and cozy, this is a Charleston MUST-eat. I remember the first time my parents took me here (circa a decade ago) and thinking it was like no restaurant I'd ever been to before. I was right! I love that they use only local produce and ingredients, serving eccentric food with wholesome ingredients you can be confident are only the best. 

I ate: 

-appetizer-

ricotta gnocchi with sea island grass beef bolognese (and my mom's salad of GEM lettuces)

-entree-

freshly caught mustard amberjack fish (and my mom's fish stew in coquette) 

2. C R U    C A F E

Cru

Classic low country comfort food, served in a historic yellow Charleston cottage with quaint porches, this restaurant exudes the spirit of the city.  It is extremely small, but also extremely comfortable. The menu has a wide amount of variation and the portion sizes are small enough that you can order multiple things (which I love!)

One of my favorites….

-small plate-

peaches n' cream: grilled balsamic peach, honey cream, and bacon jam

3. I N D A C O 

Indaco

This very new (for Charleston) Italian restaurant is absolutely delicious. It is only a year old, but has been thriving in its upper King Street Location. My mom and I had heard great things, and we were NOT disappointed! They have a superior selection of pastas, pizzas, appetizers, fish, veggies, wine, etc. 

The ambiance is also really fun, with exposed brick and beams creating an industrial-italian-comfortable-southern fusion look. I don't know how they pulled that off, but they really did!

I ate…

-entree-

black pepper tagliatelle, carbonara, pork tesa, egg yolk, chives, peccorino romano (and my mom's roasted and pan seared summer vegetables)

Do any of you have any favorite Charleston restaurants?? Or do any of these sound good to you? I am going to go to sleep and dream of food tonight!

xo,

Grace

Our Wedding Save The Dates: Minted!

Hi guys and happy Monday! I hope that you all had fantastic weekends and are off to a good new week.  Today I wanted to share with you my experience with ordering Save the Date cards for our wedding. I LOVE how they turned out!

Our fabulous wedding planner at A Charleston Bride recommended the website Minted to us for easily designing and ordering our Save the Date cards.  Initially, I was really nervous about ordering so many without seeing the design/paper in person, but the whole online design process was super easy and fun. I am so glad we took her advice and went with them!

Front:

  All Photography by the amazing Virgil Bunao Photography. Check him out!!

Back: 

(we didn't forget to add the website, it is just obstructed in this example)

We opted for a two sided card with coordinating metallic embossed envelope and I am so impressed with how it turned out.  Honestly, the hardest part was choosing and modifying a design because there are so many templates to pick.  Ben and I loved our engagement shoot with our photographer, Virgil Bunao , so we knew we wanted to include a few pictures in the Save the Date, and that helped narrow down what we were looking for.  Once we placed the order, the completed Save The Dates were delivered within the next 6 days… so fast!

It was so much fun to design and rewarding to see the final result! The paper quality is high (something we were concerned about), and we've gotten lots of comments that people have framed them-- the 5 x 7  size made it perfect for that! Most importantly, Ben and I love the design and think it is a great reflection of us a couple.

If you ever need custom cards or invitations, I definitely recommend Minted! 

xo, 

Grace

Beautiful Wedding Bouquets with a Personal Touch!

I hope you are having a great Wednesday so far! As you know, I am currently in the midst of wedding planning (less than 6 months to go!!) and I have been crazy on Pinterest finding all kinds of cool ideas I would never think of.

One of my favorite things I have discovered is the idea of the "personalized"bouquet.  I think its such a special thing to have a small, meaningful detail hidden away for the bride as she walks down the aisle. 

Here are some of my favorites!

Rustic Wedding Chic  (1) and Something Turquoise (2) 

1. I love this Southern Louisiana bouquet from Rustic Wedding Chic because of the meaningful rosary (or prayer beads) they intwined within the flowers. Not only is it beautiful, but I really like the idea of a family heirloom.

2. This monogramed burlap detail is subtle and pretty and a nice way to show off your new last initial!

Fab Mood (3) and Style Me Pretty (4)

3. This bouquet featured on Fab Mood I think is so sweet for putting subtle pictures of loved ones or your loved ones who have passed away. Its a beautiful way to have them walk down the aisle "with" you.
4. This idea may be my favorite because it is probably the easiest to incorporate! This bride took lace from her mother's wedding dress and used it to wrap around her bouquet… so beautiful!

I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful night!!

xo, 

Grace 

Bachelorette Weekend!

This past weekend, my amazing bridesmaids surprised me for a bachelorette weekend on Dafuski Island, SC. I was so surprised and loved every single minute!

Here's how it went down:
About a week and a half ago, one of my bridesmaids, Claire, called me to tell me she and her sister (also one of my bridesmaids), were going on a last minute girls weekend trip to their family beach house in South Carolina because of their grandmother's 80th birthday earlier in the week.  Since Claire is interning in New York, this would be a great time for me to see her since the beach house is only about a four hour drive from Florida.

I was so excited about these "last minute" plans, and with my fiancé's encouragement to go for it, I told her I was all in! I didn't even pack until the morning I left, unconcerned with what I would be wearing on this lounge-y weekend.

I left earlier than I planned (classic Grace), and to get onto the island where the house is, you have to take a ferry that only runs at certain times.  I was planning to take the 3:30, but since I was making such great time, I started to try and aim for the 2:30. Little did I know, the rest of my bridesmaids were all racing me there!!

I ended up pulling up at the ferry house right at 2:40 and calling Claire that I had gotten there.  Much to her relief, I had missed the boat that my sister (maid of honor) was sailing over on! Phew!

When I got off the 3:30 ferry onto the island, Claire was waiting for me and I was so excited and happy to see her!! She drove me back to the house in their golf cart (there are only golf carts on the island-- how cool is that!?), I started telling her some really detailed story and was totally oblivious to my surroundings.  We pulled up on the beach road to behind the house, and I was facing away from the house looking at her and talking.

Suddenly, she yelled "LOOK!" and I spun around, shocked to see my bridesmaids (minus one who is in Kenya-- love you Stu!) holding signs that say "Grace's Bachelorette Weekend" and "Surprise"-- sorry for the bad I-phone pic-- but here you get the idea:

 It was such a great surprise and I was so overjoyed to have my favorite ladies in the same place for such a perfect and thoughtful weekend. They truly are the best!

We had such a blast, and here are some shots of the lovely decor set up by my lovely ladies (Mary Rives is an excellent crafter and party planner)!

- Personalized Cocktail Napkins-

- Printed Totes and Koozies-

-Handmade Paper Banners-

- And of Course, a Hashtag Canvas- 

Thankful for such wonderful friends!! Love you all!

xo, 

Grace

Updates Updates: A Long Time Overdue!!

Hi Everyone! So I realize my absence recently has been unacceptable.  That being said, I have been busy recently with some very EXCITING things (cough cough Moving) and this post is a crash course of all that I have been up to recently, as well as a new start to my commitment to posting every Monday, Wednesday, Friday starting TODAY :) Here is the schedule:

Monday: Moving Monday- New life in Florida, adjusting to a new city, home decorating progress, etc.
Wednesday: What I Wore Wednesday- Style, Fashion, Remixing my closet, Steals and Deals
Friday: Freestyle Friday- A surprise category of whatever I happen to be inspired by that week

I hope you enjoy the new structure and I look forward to connecting back with you guys! Thank you for being patient with me!

For those of you who do not know, I recently moved from North Carolina, where I have lived for over 22 years, to central Florida! I am so excited about this move and new phase of my life.  I've been here for about a week now and its been a great one. Admittedly, I've made way less headway with unpacking than I would have thought, but I'm taking it one day/box at a time. The great thing about moving as far as I did is that it forced me to really think hard about each and every object/article of clothing I own and decide two things:

Do I LOVE it?

Do I NEED it?

If the answer was no to both of those, then I drove it straight over to my local goodwill (with the help of some really wonderful friends).

My fiancé's father was generous enough to drive down a Uhaul FULL of my life's possessions and furniture, while I trailed behind for the 10 hour drive.  We only made two stops… one to eat a delicious dinner somewhere in the middle of Georgia, and two to run out of gas less than an hour away from our destination (what's a move without a little adventure?!).

I learned two very valuable lessons during this move.
1. Loading/Unloading and moving stuff in and out can be super un-stressful if you decide not to make it stressful.  It was seriously 50 times easier than I thought it would be.  Sure, little things went wrong, but we took it all in stride.
2. Audio books ROCK. I was skeptical about listening to an audiobook for the drive down because so many people told me that they make them sleepy. I decided to give it a try and I am not kidding you, the time FLEW. Since then, I have bought and listened to 3 more audiobooks for while I'm driving, unpacking, even working out!! I am now audio book obsessed.

In the past week, I have also finished my undergraduate education!! With four finals, two presentations, and two papers under my belt for this last semester, I have officially completed my senior year of college and graduate this coming Monday. Being an almost college graduate is something that I am very proud of and even more thankful for.

And not to mention, I am also in the middle of planning our WEDDING!


I hope you will join me as I embark on many new journeys this Summer and I look forward to sharing with all of you!!

XO, 

Grace