wedding planning update.

with the whirlwind of the holidays behind me, i thought now was as good a time as ever to share a wedding planning update. since returning to shreveport from my kinston adventure (posts coming soon), i have hit the ground running, in a sense. i have been working hard to get as much taken care of, as quickly as i can.

here's what i've got lined up for the rest of january...

the dress. this week, i have another appointment at a certain wedding dress shop. my mom & i ventured into the land of white tulle, lace, ribbons, & bows the day before i left on vacation. while there, we found two stand-out dresses. since my sister is returning to jackson at the end of this week, i wanted her to pop into this particular shop with me to weigh in on the two current options. i think i may still have to try my luck at a couple other shops, but only time will tell.

the party people. i'm thrilled to relay the information that all of my dear bridesmaids have accepted their invitation to stand with justin & me on our wedding day. and yes, it's true: i subjected my bridal party to an email with this picture. funny? maybe. scary? definitely. luckily all of them have known me for ages, & have come to expect such nonsense (or at least i hope they have). we have begun discussion of their bridesmaids dresses, & i'm excited to see what we all end up choosing. i am so happy that the girls have already started sending in suggestions for the dress they'll wear - my friends truly have fabulous taste... & the truth is, i think we're already close to choosing the dress.

the look. earlier next week, i will have my first hair & makeup trial. i am exceedingly excited about this particular appointment, & a special thanks goes out to one of my bridesmaids (& future sister-in-law) julianne, for refering me to (a), & also setting up the appointment! 

if you know me, you'll know that i am absolutely obsessed with hair & makeup. the only reason i won't be doing my own on the big day is to cut down on stress. i know that if i tried to do it myself, i'd feel a lot of pressure & freak out about if it 'looked right,' and other such silliness. i decided to go ahead & take those worries out of the equation. and this appointment will be the first step out of the dark on that front.

here are some hairstyles i've been eyeing:

the venue. that weekend, i will finally be making the big trek down to baton rouge with my mom & dad to tour our wedding venue & meet with the coordinators! more to come on the details of the venue, but suffice it to say, we are getting married at a place that i positively adore. an extra-plus-bonus of this trip is that i just might be able to see two of my bridesmaids - laura & jenny - while i'm there. 

the hues. after an enlightening conversation with jenny last night, i have almost 100% decided on my color palette. although the colors i'm wishing for aren't necessarily those associated with the season justin & i will be getting married during, i feel confident that these colors will be exactly what i'm looking for. i'm currently working on building inspiration boards to really put my vision together, which i will share soon.

the paper. the following weekend, another of my bridesmaids - anna claire - will be sitting down at the work table with me to begin the design of my wedding invitations & programs. anna claire is one creatively talented girl, & i can't wait to see what our two minds converge to create. plus, it'll just be nice to spend some quality time with one of my best friends!

the stress. after a few melt-downs last week, i'd rate my current stress level as moderate. i'm aware of all i have to do, periodically it freaks me out, but overall, it is only serving to motivate me to get things done. and motivation is good, right?

so, there you have it: my january has been booked up with tons of fun wedding planning events, & to tell you the truth, i'm looking forward to them all with equal anticipation. and another source of excitement comes in the form of (m), my ultra-fabulous wedding coordinator! we made things official this week, & i know she is going to make all of this planning business a piece of cake! so now, on to the above-listed events! of course, there will be a seeming myriad other little details swimming around in the in-between time, & as those come along, i'll keep you posted. 

for now, i'll just sit back, relax, & get to work.

photos: all found via pinterest; i compiled them with photoscape