a bride-to-be is born!

Ever wonder what happens when tables are turned, and the wedding planner gets engaged? On August 27, 2012, on Captiva Island, Florida, those magical, and you can bet well-dressed, tables did turn when this wedding planner officially became a bride-to-be! Over the next 90 days, I’ll share with you my own adventures from engagement through “I do” and maybe even a little beyond. I know you’ll recognize yourselves and elements of your own journey in our story. I’ll even try to take the proverbial ring off once in awhile and reflect on what you can learn from this expert-turned-subject and how you can apply what I’ve learned to your own planning. And yes, we’ll definitely have some laughs along the way!

Engagement Story

Our August trip to beautiful Captiva Island in southwest Florida almost didn’t happen. We usually visit Phil’s family there each year. This year, despite his best efforts, Phil kept dropping hints about the engagement, including wanting to plan some “alone time” during what is usually our family vacation. In his defense, 6 years into our relationship I am still impossible to surprise (nice that he keeps trying though!).

Phil’s plan was to let me book our private stay at an inn and give me the false appearance of having control over the vacation (imagine: a wedding planner who likes control). In the days prior to the trip, the Inn kept calling to see if we wanted to reschedule due to impending Hurricane Isaac. We persevered, though, and arrived on a sunny, albeit very windy, day. Our first inclination was to head to the beach, but the sand was blowing so hard that it stung our face and legs, so we retreated inland to the pool. There, under a very romantic straw structure, Phil dropped to one knee and proposed just as a huge storm cloud was rolling in. Of course, I cried, said yes, cried some more, then called my mother and everyone else we know. Phil chose the perfect ring: a yellow diamond in a vintage setting. A bride-to-be was born!

There are probably lessons to be shared here about trying to trick the untrickable, planning an engagement vacation during hurricane season in southwest Florida, or hiding “the ring” in a bag that your future fiancé could sift through (and thankfully didn't), but ultimately it was as romantic an engagement as any I’ve seen, and the beginning of our very own exciting journey towards marriage!

Our next stops: choosing the venue (a.k.a. the hardest part of all) and designing the perfect save-the-date announcements. Look for our next installment soon!

Until then, we'll leave you with this beautiful video our talented friend, Sheena Jeffers, created for us of our engagement week:

we're off!

Aaaaand we're off! No we're not going to the picture above, but it doesn't look too far off! Check back in two weeks for some more fun! 

Adios!

Donut vs. Doughnut

Donut vs. Doughnut. Doesn't really matter how you spell it, either way they are de.li.cious. Yum. I have a slight obsession with this scrumptious, sugary, doughy, sweet bread. Growing up it was always something presented as a "special treat" or as my siblings and I referred to simply as "ST". Almost every Sunday before church (and probably one of the only things that made us crawl out of bed that early on a Sunday) was the guarantee that the white, powdered Sweet Sixteen donuts would be waiting for us in the kitchen. Remember these beauts?

We love them so much, my sister decided to have them as treats for her wedding guests too. But hers were of THE most delicious variety--spudnuts out of Charlottesville, Virginia.

So as a nod to my favorite treat as a child, I've put together some wedding day donut inspiration for you to drool over.

[in order from top to bottom: Ruffled Blog, Style Me Pretty, Belle Magazine, Calligraphy by Jennifer via Pinterest, New and Blue, United with Love, A Realistic Wedding]

For y'all local RVA folks, I've put together my top three favorite spots to get these sweet treats.

1. Ms. Yoder's Donuts. I'm telling you, these are smack-your-mama good. And HUGE at about 6 inches in diameter! Coming around only to local farmer's markets (and shucks, they attend one every Saturday a mile from my house--ever wonder the reason why I run??).  Their popularity has decorated their truck with several Richmond awards and on any given Saturday The Yoder Family produce and sell about 1500 donuts in only 4 hours. 

2. Dixie Donuts. New to the Richmond scene, these gourmet donuts come in some crazy good flavors. From pistachio to german chocolate cake to blueberry cobbler and dulce de leche. No, I didn't just buy a LivingSocial deal for $18 dollars worth of these babies.

3. Ukrop's Bakery. An oldie but a goodie. This was the donut favorite in the Averette household growing up. The simply glazed, fluffy donuts are perfect with a cup o' joe. Still to this day when I visit my mom see them in her dessert tray I let out an embarrassing squeal. Good thing she doesn't judge me.

 

As favors, dessert bars, wedding cake or breakfast, donuts will most likely be a hit at any point and during any season for that matter. You can bet that whenever I decide to take the plunge, these puppies will be hitting my guests lips. 

What are your favor sweet treats? What will you be serving your wedding guests for dessert? 

Would love to hear your fun, creative ideas!

virginia bride magazine

I've been battling the sniffles the last few days, but I'm back to announce some exciting news: WE'VE BEEN PUBLISHED!! Huge thank you to Virginia Bride Magazine for the feature!

Erin and Johnny, the darling duo who will welcome a baby girl into their lives very shortly, were absolutely stunning. They stayed true to their roots with a backyard, farm wedding with tons of shabby chic details. They truly were a beautiful, loving, fun couple. Two of my favorite shots from the day, that you didn't get to see in the feature!


Laura Gordon rocked it out again! Such a talented little lady!

Thank you!

happy anniversary, catherine and john!

Happy Anniversary to Catherine and John! One year ago yesterday we had the privilege of helping them coordinate and plan their wedding day! It was a stunning and beautiful day at Stevenson Ridge filled with delicious food from White House Catering, beautiful flowers created by the mother of the bride and even a ride in an authentic Model-T! Thanks to Carly Rehberg for the wonderful images and for getting us a feature in this awesome publication! Congrats you two!

To check out Carly's full feature, click on over to her blog!

challenges of vacation: is there such a thing?

We have serious vacation fever. I mean serious. It always gets like this for Phil and I. We wait until the very end of the summer to schedule our vacation thinking it will give us that "aaaaahhhh!" feeling we're yearning for when we leave for the airport, but we always ends up with this stressed out, scream-until-it-comes last two weeks before we leave.

[Phil and I posing happy and calm at the beginning of the summer for our anniversary.]

[Teetering on insanity for vacation.]

The last four years we have been taking vacation the first week in September to visit his family down in Florida. Phil's niece and nephew weren't of grade school age yet so we would miss all of the crowds as the older kids go back to school, plus it was just in the tip of my fall season, so it was still fair game with the clients. Waiting this late for vacation is not fun anymore, it's TORTURE. So what did we decide to do? Move it only ONE WEEK EARLIER. Stupid. Needless to say, we are itching for beach, sun and as Phil likes to say "relaxation station".

[Last year's vacation with his family.]

Prepping to be gone from the office for 10 whole days is hard. Tying up loose ends with clients, making sure there are no final questions for emails to be answered and simply cleaning up my workspace to come home ready to tackle the fall season will be on my agenda for the next 3 weeks. Oh, and along with the wine dates with vendors to say farewell and squeezing in those last minute coffees with clients to assure them they won't go insane while I'm gone. Alright, alright, it feels like I'll be gone for months--but just 10 days, I promise!
(I'm not going to mention the inbox upon my return, okay?)

Here is what's up with me for the next three weeks:

To keep calm and a level head: Running my butt off, literally. My mom will certainly stay on top of me for this one. In a moment of persuasion, I signed up for my second half marathon.

To keep the business running and the clients happy: Crossing off every single item on my to-do list. And the ever growing one until August 23rd.

To return with a sense of organization and freshness: Cleaning my shamefully messy office.

I would love to hear how you tackle running a business or working a demanding job and prepping/taking a vacation! Do you find prepping to leave town is a job in and of itself? Are you fully able to relax once on vacation? We'd love to hear from you!

eleanore + breck, a southern, bay wedding

Oh, where to begin on this one? This, out of just about every wedding I've ever done, was the largest labor of love on record. Bride and groom lived in Chicago, parents of the bride and hosts of the night lived in D.C., the bride's parent's property and venue for the wedding was in Gwynn's Island right on the Chesapeake Bay and I'm in Richmond. Needless to say, the sheer logistics of getting everyone together to plan once in a while was just about impossible. But we did it--several times!

Eleanore's parents are art and architecture enthusiasts, and their Bay property certainly displayed no different character. Built on a six acre property right on the Chesapeake Bay, nestled in pine trees and perfectly manicured lawns and gardens, was basically heaven for me. There was a blank slate and I was so stoked to tackle it! To plan and design an entire weekend of events, including a Friday evening party for 70 guests, a bridal luncheon, pre-ceremony cocktail hour, ceremony and cocktail hour, reception, post-reception beach party and a Sunday afternoon bluegrass and BBQ event, I was surprised to be standing straight by the end of May.
It was the best possible experience only because I had a huge support system at home, Phil (manfriend, we'll detail him later!), my family, my amazing staff and some seriously trusting clients. It truly went off without a hitch. I mean it--nothing went wrong! [Well, except for that time I forgot the steamer after two SUV loads of things brought in from Richmond and about 6 lists of inventory and items. A STEAMER?! But lovely intern, Anna Michelle saved the day with steam from the iron.]

So enough of my gushing over the truly amazing and unforgettable experience--and on with the details! Eleanore and Breck had a clear idea of colors they loved. Words were thrown out like natural, organic, unstructured, wood. We were able to incorporate their love for travel with an atlas garland hung over their chairs and a framed map identifying the places they've traveled together behind a vintage card catalog full of old postcards. Gwynn's Island is Eleanore's family's second home and it's overflowing with local resources--crabs, cheese, oysters--and residents that want to help! We packed welcome bags with TONS of information about this tiny 15 mile long Island, we had local cheeses brought in for cocktail hour, the caterer grew her own mint and basil for our signature cocktails and we even had an oyster shucker on site! The menu was also carefully crafted to include Texas, Chicago, and Virginia roots.

The Flower Cupboard, based in Williamsburg, truly created Eleanore's vision. Buckets and old planter boxes lined the aisle. The tree arbor was adorned with huge flower buds in just the perfect spots. Farm tables were topped with vintage lanterns and eclectic flower-filled vases.

Truly a stunning and breathtaking wedding. And the icing on the cake: WE WERE FEATURED IN SOUTHERN WEDDINGS! One of my most favorite blogs--I mean a southern girl can relate right?? Absolutely an honor, so I encourage you to check out their feature on Eleanore and Breck too!


Lastly--my girl, my homie and friend Laura Gordon takes the most incredible photos. Never even meeting the happy couple until the day of their wedding and she rocked out on capturing their real emotion and love. Take a minute to check out her full post and shout out as well!


photo: laura gordon
event planning and design: LK events and design
flowers: the flower cupboard
entertainment: the blue tips
farm tables, chairs, linens, glassware and china: classic party rentals of va
tent, lighting, tables: special event rentals
hair and makeup: catie starr