I Flip Flop on Engagement Photos

Can we be for really-real for a second? I kind of hated engagement photos.  They can be pretty awkward, it's more than a hundred photos of a couple staring at each other and kissing. As nice as it is for you to have professional photos, isn't it weird seeing a bunch of poses of just two people?  And why are you on train tracks? Do you normally hang out on train tracks? What's the point?

So yes, I admit it, I was an engagement shoot cynic years before Sphinx and I were engaged. Chalk it up to being jealous of those who were having weddings and able to take pictures, but that was my outlook.  Sure I figured we would do it to get used to the photographer if it was offered in the package, but it wasn't a priority.

(On the topic of awkward engagement shoots, click here if you want a great laugh! Awful Engagement Shoots, sent to me by a friend "for inspiration.")

However, as time went on and my (pre-)bride brain became more pronounced, I started noticing that there were some amazing engagement shoots out there! Some of those were on the Bee, but I know that I was initially swayed by Best Man J's pictures. They are a gorgeous couple, and their location and styling was something totally new to me!  They were at this amazing historic house called Race & Religious and they were styled like they were going out and returning for a night on the town and it turned out awesome.

BM J and his beautiful wife had me reconsidering the engagement photos./Photo by: Sarah Mattix Photography

Catholic Church of Choice: Our Ceremony Venue

So we last left off with the search for a catholic church for our ceremony and I had developed certain criteria for our church of choice.  Some of the churches were long-time loves of mine, and others were taken off the table pretty early in the process.  So I went about researching each of the churches, calling about their available dates, finding pictures and videos of weddings at each, and making spreadsheets of the info that I found. 
But wouldn't you know it that we had found our church before all of this research and calling had even occurred?
To fully explain, I need to back up to December to the week of the engagement...

We stayed in Disney World for the week, and I looked up some of the churches I had in mind to drool over pictures and share them with the new fiancé. But we were celebrating our proposal together in Disney World, so we didn't do much planning in that first week (ok, except for lots of pinning on Pinterest). 

"I'm pinning our wedding - get used to it!" - a direct Miss Pyramid quote in that first week.
Actually, this (posed) photo is from the year before, doing all the things I was not allowed to do as a Disney Cast Member, but the visual is good all the same./personal photo

An Aisle to Walk: Church Choices!

Sphinx and I are Catholic, and we were always sure of having a Catholic wedding.  I completed my confirmation back in high school, and he did RCIA classes and became confirmed after we had been dating for several years. 

So as soon as we got back from our engagement vacation (ok... actually ON our vacation), I started looking up churches.  With such an old, southern city, we have no lack of beautiful catholic churches, and I already had some in mind.  The problem was TOO many options, so I'll run through some of the ones we looked at here.  (warning - lots of pictures and church info coming up!)

First Pass Inspiration Board

In a previous post, I pretty much skirted the issue of deciding on a "theme" because I don't really think we need one.  Basically, we will include things that we like, things that are meaningful, and make sure that our guests have a great time. 
But I can't get off that easy when discussing the decor and design elements of the wedding! I won't belabor my journey to discover each of these elements; some of them are carried over from the pre-engagement wedding fantasies, some are recent finds, and some were discovered after the choice of venue.

For your viewing pleasure, I present Wedding Inspiration Board 1.0!

Colors: Fabric.com Shoes: Weddings PlaceTux: Gift for Groom Fountain: Meg Baisden PhotographyChandelier: White Planning Chalkboard: SarahSaysSew on Etsy Bridesmaids Bouquets: Found on Project Wedding by Design House Weddings Thumprint Print: SilhouetteWeddings on Etsy Moss Letters: Choosing You on Etsy
Sparkler Exit: Style Me Pretty by Life Writing Photography Crystal Garland: save-on-crafts LOVE: SilhouetteWeddings on Etsy Floral Centerpiece: snapshot via my florist Cake: Via Martha Stewart Weddings by Liz Banfield Photography

How to be a Google Search Champion : Wedding Dress Edition

I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest.
Love: 100 wedding dress pictures all in one spot, and easily accessed from my phone or any computer.
Hate: pictures that are linked to a tumblr or a knock-off dress site that gives me no info on the real dress!

I've been pinning every kind of dress shape and style onto my board "Dresses - All Shapes & Styles" (I know, you're trying hard to keep up with my wit).  The plan is to show them to Sphinx to gauge his interest in wedding dress styles.  I'm pinning all kinds of dresses to throw him off the trail of what I'm really zeroing in on - but here's what I do when I find a dress that is worth the effort to get more details!

Wedding Theming: Chandelier Obsessed

As it so often happens in wedding planning, brides (and grooms!) have to become concerned with details about which they have very little concern.  So many people ask about them, and apparently the answer "I just don't care what kind of glassware we use at the reception," is not a sufficient answer.  You must have an opinion!
But in some cases, as a bride, you're able to actually relate a real life obsession with a wedding detail.  Of course there are plenty of things that we consider important - the food, drinks, music, and making sure our bridal party members look like movie stars.  However my decorating obsession for the wedding - and in real life - are chandeliers. 
I swooned when I saw that Mrs. Lyre was able to have that incredible chandelier.  And Mrs. Camel's chandelier hanging from the tree! Amazing!  And who hasn't seen this picture on Pinterest?




This pic is so many things, but the chandelier gets my heart fluttering!

Found on: www.oncewed.com/Photo by: Turtle Pond Photography

And I would love to be able to see this someday

Hall of Mirrors at Château de Versailles from EatLoveSavor