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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Wedding Wednesday: The First Six Months

It's been over six months now since Todd and I have been engaged. So crazy to think how quickly the time has gone.  Today I'm sharing my first of many Wedding Wednesday posts.  I always find these posts fun to read, so I thought you all would enjoy reading about our wedding planning adventure.  You can anticipate reading these about once a month or so.  Today, we're going to jump in with so you're engaged, now what

It seems like the current trend is to graduate college, begin adulting, and get engaged. Whether this is the track you're on personally or not, this is what my social media newsfeeds are telling me, and I think your feeds are probably reflecting something similar.  We are definitely in the midst of wedding and engagement season, so it seems like every day somebody new is celebrating their engagement. While we are talking about fresh engagements, I wanted to give a shoutout to my college roommate and her man on their recent engagement. She's a major blog supporter- Hey Jocelyn! 

Months One and Two 
With getting engaged at a young(ish) age, it can be exciting but also a little overwhelming once you sit down and start the planning process. Because let's face it- most of our Pinterest dream boards don't just automatically convert into real life plans.  I was definitely hit with this reality during month one of our engagement. When you first get engaged, take a couple of weeks to bask in the happiness. Everyone around you will be filled with joy, and it's important to cherish those moments with friends and family.  I was lucky enough to be given a variety of wedding magazines with our congratulatory engagement gifts. If you didn't receive any magazines, then I highly recommend you take a trip to the story to purchase a few. The key is to preview them before purchasing to make sure you're getting something substantial not just a book of ads.  Start your planning my creating a vision for your wedding- season, month, time of day, color schemes, venue type, etc.  I used Pinterest and wedding magazines to help create our vision. Initially, we thought we wanted a fall wedding, but we ended up choosing a December wedding. It worked better with our schedules, budget, and venue we wanted to use. 

Once you have a time frame picked out, then it's time to start picking out the venue. Before selecting venues, be sure to create a budget because it will help you determine what venues you can and cannot use. We looked online at a bunch of places before deciding where to actually look at.  We visited a wide variety of places- formal ballrooms, all inclusive venues, DIY venues, barns, rustic chic venues, etc.  It was helpful to visit all different types of places so that we could compare them all side by side.  We chose to visit the venues as a couple rather than with our families because we wanted to preview without everyone else's opinions. Ironically enough, the venue we chose was actually the only one we brought family to just because of timing. 

Wedding Venue Preview- One of the chandeliers at our venue. 

Month Three
The next step for us was to choose a photographer. This was a no brainer for us. Todd did a ton of research prior to our engagement, so we decided immediately that we wanted to use the same photographers that captured our engagement. The sweet couple was so personable and did a fabulous job.  The only choice we had to make was the length of time to hire them for.  We ended up opting for the eight hour package.  It would allow us to have pictures while getting ready, at the ceremony, during cocktail hour and dinner, and the start of dancing. 

Months Four and Five
We chose a venue where we have to hire outside vendors to supply everything (food, beverages, desserts, dj, etc.).  This option felt overwhelming at first, but after doing some research it has not been too much of a headache. The next item to check off the list was finding a catering company.  Luckily, our venue provided us with a list of recommendations.  We contacted a handful of companies and requested prices and menu options.  Based on these two facets, we selected two companies to meet with in person.  Essentially, we were looking for someone who could supply us with as much as possible- the more inclusive the better! After attending the tasting, we felt very confident in the company we are choosing for our big day. 

Month Six
The month has been so busy with non wedding aspects of life (grad school, coaching, tennis, teaching, job promotions, and so much more). Needless to say we have made little progress in the wedding planning department.  We are in the midst of selecting our DJ and ceremony musicians as well as figuring out how to propose to our bridal party.  

In cased you missed it, here's our engagement story!

XOXO



Tuesday, May 29, 2018

What I Know For Shore

Happy Tuesday everyone. The good news is that you only have to survive a four day week before you get another fun-filled weekend! 

Hey, it's me- Michaela! You may have forgotten who I am because I have become the world's worst blogger. Neglectful bloggers just seem to be the new trend.  Over the past few months I have continued reading my favorite bloggers' posts, but they definitely have also been guilty of falling into the forgetting to post trap too.  Well guess what, in my hiatus I have learned a few things that I wanted to share with you about blogging.

{One}
I still love blogging.  Despite not publishing, I have actually been creating new content. 
You can be on the look out for two to three posts per week! 

{Two}
It is essential to have a creative outlet in this crazy busy life. The weeks when I was busy, I felt myself not taking time to just take a step back to breathe.  

{Three}
It's best to always stay true to your brand. Part of the reason I have been MIA was because I was losing my creative spark, and I could feel myself slipping away from what I stand for. 

{Four}
I am so ready to re-connect with everyone in the blogging community- readers, brands, and other bloggers. 

In light of my blogging reflection, I felt that it was only appropriate to debut again with a post that highlighted my blog. Originally What I Know For Shore posts was a place where I shared honest things and facts about who I am.  Moving forward, it's going to turn into a weekly life update. It's punny and allows me the flexibility to share with you whatever I want! 

My first semester of grad school concluded during the first week of this month.  The last few weeks of the semester were jam packed with tons of reading, research, papers, and projects. I definitely did a little happy dance when I submitted my last assignment for each class. Needless to say I have been able to breath the past few weeks. I don't think I realized how time consuming my classes actually were.  My next class starts tomorrow, but it is 100% online so it shouldn't be too time consuming. There is definitely something to be said for not having to spend three hours every Monday afternoon in class. 

As far as teaching goes, it is definitely survival mode. We are down to our final three weeks, and there is so much going on between field trips, field days, end of the year awards, final exams, elementary to middle school transitions, and middle to high school transitions.  It is still hard to believe that I have (almost) survived my first full year of teaching. The time has seriously flown by! I am doing my best to make the last few weeks productive but fun for the students.  The good news is that there are only two more Mondays left in the year! 

As I sit here making my to do list for the week, I can't help but admit that this weekend definitely made it feel like summer has already arrived.  Being able to wake up three days in a row without an alarm has been amazing. This weekend I was able to soak up some sunshine on the back deck, read for pleasure, take a trip to beach and outlets with my family, get some cleaning done, watch the final games of the 2018 college lacrosse season, attend my favorite class at the gym, and get a little school work done. 


Lately...

It's no secret that I do not read enough during the school year. Most of the time you can catch me reading something my students are reading, papers written by kids, or The Skimm.  When  I finally make time to read it's right before bed.  This means that I end up reading the same few pages over and over again night after night.  I have been reading Nine Women One Dress off and on since Spring Break.  It's a great light read.  I highly recommend it if you like a romance novel. 


Watching: Southern Charm
Anyone else obsessed with this show? I am a sucker for anything on BRAVO TV, but this show is my absolute favorite. It's the perfect combination of humor, reality tv, and a little southern life. Last summer, my family took a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina, which makes me enjoy the show even more. It's always fun to see places where we went while staying there. 

Goal Setting
It's no secret that exercising is my sanity outlet. It helps me relieve stress and find balance in life. It provides me with a mental and physical release that keeps me going.  Sadly, I've allowed the craziness of the year take away the time that I would normally spend working out. My goal is to fuel my body with healthy foods and workout three times each week.  

Wearing 
The warm weather has arrived, so I can finally wear dresses again! Dresses are the best because they require very little effort in the mornings. All I have to do is pair it with a cardigan and a cute pair of shoes. If you need a new dress, then I suggest you checkout the JCrew Factory sale. This weekend I was able to find a dress for $30! 
Here are a few of my favorites right now: Option one, option two, and option three.   

Thanks for coming back to read! Feel free to comment with any posts you'd like to read in the upcoming weeks!
XOXO