One of the first things future brides and grooms love to do after getting engaged is is officially asking their friends and family to be their bridesmaids and groomsmen!

Getting the bridal party set early makes it officially feel like it’s your wedding season! You can talk about the bridesmaid dresses and bachelor party, and for the future bride, you have your team ready to help make those tricky decorating decisions!

After you’ve decided who you want standing next to you as you marry the person of your dreams, I think it’s always fun to find a creative way to ask them. Being in your bridal party is a big honor, so let’s make it more special with a fun invitation!

I have compiled a few of my favorite ways to ask groomsmen (don’t worry ladies – bridesmaid gift ideas are coming soon!) to be in your wedding party, including how we asked ours!

Cheers and happy planning!

“Will you be my Groomsmen” cards from PurpleandPlatinum:

Brooke, the owner of this shop, is an absolute delight to work with! She will customize these cards to match your wedding colors and the style of your wedding.

Custom pint glasses from Frederick Engraving:

These custom beer pint glasses are the perfect groomsmen gift for your guys! Arika can customize them to include each groomsmen’s name, your monogram, the wedding date, or even the location! These pair perfectly with the beer labels below.

Custom beer labels from StudioBLabels:

What is more manly than these custom beer labels with your favorite local beer?! I am absolutely obsessed with these labels and think they are perfect for any groomsmen! Rachel also makes wine labels for your bridesmaids, so it’s the perfect one stop shop!

Wedding weekend sneak peek: 

Happy Wedding Wednesday! It’s officially my new favorite day of the week! We are moving full speed ahead with the wedding planning and are just a little under a year away from the big day!

Even though I have been dreaming about this day for what feels like forever, I have found myself a bit overwhelmed with the entire process. So many exciting things to do and, of course, I want them done yesterday! 🙂  If you’re like me and are planning your own wedding, your daughter’s, or a friend’s, I am sure there seems to be an unending list of things on our wedding to-do list and the order and priority of everything is a little bit hazy. 

So! To help you out, I’ve put together this wedding planning timeline printable to serve as your guide as you enjoy this exciting time. Feel free to click on the link below to download your PDF and check off all the big ticket items as you go! And most importantly, enjoy every minute of this wonderful time in your life! 

Download your free wedding timeline printable here!

Today is the very start of a new fabulous series that I am SO excited about! WEDDING WEDNESDAY!!!

Yes, it certainly is wedding season, so it’s fitting, but the real reason I am starting it this year is because…

Landon and I just got engaged!!!!

We are over the moon happy and so excited to be starting this next chapter of our lives. Thank you to all of you who have sent us such sweet words with your love and support. We are so grateful.

To start off Wedding Wednesday, I thought it would be most fun to start with our proposal story! So here goes!

Landon surprised me with a birthday trip to Nashville (my favorite city ever!) and while I, of course, wondered if this could be THE weekend, I naturally talked myself out of it. So I went thinking this would be an incredible weekend filled with fun tourist activities, hiking, and naturally lots of country bars with good cocktails and dancing. Little did I know it would be the most amazing and incredible weekend of my life.

We spent the first day walking around and exploring the city and all the hot tourist spots. Landon had never been to Nashville before, so it was fun showing him around this lively city.

The second day, we decided to take the scenic route down to Franklin (if you haven’t been, go! It’s just the cutest little town with a picturesque Main Street and some incredible art festivals!) via the Natchez Trace Parkway. Of course we stopped at Loveless Cafe, because how do you go all the way down there and not stop for their world famous biscuits?! We continued down the parkway checking out the beautiful views and stopping at all the overlooks.

We finally came upon a map, which led us to Jackson Falls. We planned on making a sort of “nature walk” part of our outdoorsy day, so this was the perfect spot! We strolled down the paved walkway to an absolutely gorgeous waterfall where kids were playing, sliding down the natural rocks, and enjoying their picnic lunch with their parents. Landon was looking for a quieter and more remote location (little did I know it was so he could propose!) so we walked back out and hiked to the other overlook at the top of the trailhead. We arrived at Duck Creek overlook and realized we had already stopped there during our drive so we headed back to the waterfall in hopes of a more solitary environment!

As luck would have it, literally all the families were gone! There were just a few scattered couples but they were all off on their own having their own romantic moments so we felt like we had the serene setting all to ourselves. We sat on a bench overlooking the waterfall and just talked about our relationship and life and how much we loved each other. It was just perfect.

I must have been in my own little world because as we were talking he was setting up a GoPro on the other side of him to capture the next few life changing moments, and I did not even realize it! He then started playing one of our favorite romantic country songs and asked me to dance. Well duhhh! I love to two step, especially with my favorite dance partner. We sang and danced and the moment was just beautiful. The song started to fade and Landon started telling me how much he loved me and got down on one knee and proposed.

It was absolutely perfect and so is he. This was the best moment of my life and of course I cried, said yes profusely, and jumped into his arms. We called our family and friends to share the news from Franklin and spent the rest of the evening celebrating!

To cap off the most incredible weekend EVER, Landon threw a surprise engagement party at our new apartment when we got home the next day. Even my family flew in from Colorado and California to surprise me! It was the absolute best way to top off an amazing weekend and celebrate with our loved ones.

Y’all, I am one heck of a lucky girl. We are so excited to be starting this chapter of our lives together and planning our wedding.

Over the next year, I will be sharing our favorite wedding tips and tricks as well as featuring my favorite vendors and companies that we are using for our Colorado destination wedding! I hope you enjoy following us on this adventure and get some good advice and tips for the next big wedding in your life whether it’s your own, your daughter’s, or your friend’s!

Xoxoxo

Kate
PS. Did I mention how lucky I am?! Landon made this amazing video to capture the whole weekend! 😍

Happy Wedding Wednesday! If y’all checked out our wedding registry etiquette post for the bride and groom last week, you know how exciting, yet overwhelming registering for your own wedding can be!

But what about for the guest?! Buying the perfect gift and navigating the registry can be just as tricky! There are so many unwritten rules, so we are here to help break down some of those concerns. We are answering some of your biggest questions to help with the gift giving process for all your upcoming weddings. Enjoy!

How do I find their registry?

A link to the wedding registry should be included on the wedding website or their save-the-dates. Still can’t find it? Try Googling the full names of the couple and if they used a larger company for their site, it should pop up. Still can’t find it? Ask their parents or a close friend of theirs!

Should we send the gift in advance or bring it to the wedding?

Send the gift in advance. At the end of the wedding, the couple is usually whisked off and vendors are moving a million miles a second. To save any confusion or hassle moving gifts, just send your gift in the mail either before or after the wedding.

How much should I spend?

The traditional rule is to spend as much as the per-plate cost is. Nowadays, with wedding costs rising, this could be up to $300 a person, which is not always reasonable for every guest. Think about how good of friends you are with the couple. If you’re a distant friend or colleague, consider starting at about $50-$75 a person. If you’re family or really close, usually about $150 a person is nice.

Do we have to stick to the registry?

Yes, please do! The bride and groom put an unbelievable amount of time into crafting the perfect registry with what they would like included in their future home and life together. I know as a guest, it may not feel as personal buying off the registry, but I promise they will appreciate it.

If you’re really close to the bride and groom and know there is something they would absolutely love but didn’t include it in their registry, that’s fine. My best friend actually gave me the most incredible monogrammed napkins I have ever seen – not on our registry – but she knows me well and had them designed to match our china, so needless to say, I was obsessed. But don’t go off the registry simply for the sake of being more creative.

I was invited to a shower and the wedding. Do I bring two gifts?

Yes. It is still appreciated when the guests bring a gift to the shower and also send a wedding gift. The shower gift is usually a bit smaller than the wedding gift though!

 Shop some of our favorite registry items!

Creating your wedding registry can be one of the highlights of the wedding planning process. Especially for the groom, who often times has a little more of an opinion on this process than the rest of the planning!

I mean, what’s more fun than picking out all of the beautiful new things with your fiancé that your loved ones will gift you to start your new home and life together as a married couple? So dreamy and exciting to think about! But, in this day and age, with all of the different products and types of registries, the process can be a little overwhelming. And if not done correctly, you might find yourself after your wedding wondering why you once wanted that salad spinner or why you didn’t register for the Vitamix. The last thing you want to deal with after the honeymoon is figuring out how to exchange gifts or return them for what you really want. So, do your homework with your fiancé on the front end and make sure you really think through all those fun items that for which you are registering.

So where do we begin?! There are so many different types of registries: the big box stores, the unique china store in your home town, the universal registry, the online-only registries…the options seem endless. There is no one-size-fits-all, but there are definitely better options than others, so for this Wedding Wednesday, we are answering all your wedding registry questions!

Enjoy and happy shopping (and scanning)!

When should we set up our registry?

Set up your registry as soon as you can after you get engaged. If you’re having an engagement party or showers, definitely make sure your registry is set up in advance of the parties so your guests know where to buy your gifts.

How many registries should we have?

I would recommend having a maximum of three. Much more than three can start to look a little tacky (sorry, guys). If you use an online universal registry like Zola, you really only need one!  However, if you want your guests to be able to have the option of picking your gift out in stores, consider adding just one traditional retail registry with your Zola registry like a Williams-Sonoma or a Pottery Barn.

What’s your favorite registry you used?

Throughout the wedding planning adventure, we tried tons of different registries. We started with three basic ones (or so we thought): Amazon, Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. We thought between those three we could register for pretty much anything that we wanted. False – after a lot of broken china and crystal from Amazon, we removed this registry and added Neimans. We found the online portal and buying system tricky, so we removed this one and tried Bed Bath and Beyond. Still not totally satisfied, we finally tried Zola which I had heard a ton about but was not sure how I felt about the universal registry concept. GAME CHANGER. This was by far my favorite registry we used! We ended up removing all of our registries except for Zola and Williams-Sonoma (just so our guests had a box store option in case they wanted to see the product and buy in person). 

After getting your bridesmaid and groomsmen on board, one of my favorite parts of the engagement process is taking your engagement photos! This is the perfect opportunity to capture your love in some of your favorite hot spots and get some casual professional photos to display at your home or on your save the dates!

Since Landon and I can’t get married in the Fall (dang it football!), I was determined to take our engagement photos during the peak leaf color changing period this autumn no matter what it took! For us that meant, a red eye flight on Monday to Denver, a two hour drive to Vail on Tuesday AM, a 4 hour photo shoot, a 2 hour drive back to Denver that night, and then a 5am flight back to Dallas on Wednesday to get to work on time. All just so we could get the perfect yellows, orange, and red trees in our mountain engagement shoot! And my goodness it was worth it! 

Our photos absolutely exceeded my expectations. Jackie, of Jackie Cooper Photography, just killed it! It was such a pleasure to get to know her better before our big day, and her work is absolutely incredible!

In preparation for this session, Jackie provided me with some excellent tips and tricks below to prepare for our shoot. (After all, we were only there for 24 hours, so we had one shot!) All of her insight was extremely helpful, so I wanted to share it with you all as you prepare for your next couples session! Enjoy!

6 Tips on How to Take the Perfect Engagement Photos with Jackie Cooper!

Collaborate + Communicate

Your photographer wants to know if you have a particular vision for the shoot, so don’t hesitate to communicate what you want before and during the session.  That said, you’ve hired your photographer to create beautiful images for you, so be open to his/her ideas during the session as well.  Collaboration is a wonderful thing; work off of each other!

Location

Often couples will have a particular location in mind for their session, which is great!  It’s fun to have photos from a location that has meaning to the two of you.  If you don’t have any ideas, though, ask your photographer.  We often have ideas for places that we’d love to photograph and would be happy to make some recommendations according to what would suit your style!

Outfits

I suggest that couples choose up to three outfits for their engagement session.  Depending on your location choices, you may find that simply one or two will be a good number.  By limiting outfits, you allow yourself to relax into the groove of the shoot more quickly.

Pack a Beauty Bag

Often your photographer will have an “emergency kit” of some sort, but it doesn’t hurt to bring a bag of supplies that might come in handy with the particular outfit, hair style and makeup look you’ve chosen.  For example, static guard comes in handy in drier climates if you’ll be wearing lightweight, clingy fabrics. Hair products and pins are good to pack for uncooperative hair and chapstick/lipgloss keeps lips from looking dried out.  And don’t forget to pack any makeup that you think might need to be refreshed during outfit changes.

Hair & Makeup

If you aren’t sure you’ll be happy with doing your own hair and makeup, it’s never a bad idea to hire a hair and makeup artist for your engagement photos.  This is a great time, too, to work with some vendors you may be considering for your wedding.

Have fun!

Many couples haven’t had professional photos taken together (or even individually since their senior portraits!), so it’s natural to be a little unsure of what to expect.  Just relax and be yourselves as much as possible, and you’ll become more and more comfortable throughout the shoot.  Another way to make your engagement session more special is to plan a date night out afterward since you’ll be looking your best and will have just spent a good hour together being sweet and lovey!