The planning is the most fun.

Apparently, unlike some girls, I had no idea what my wedding would one day look like. Literally, no idea. I have always felt like I wanted for it to be outside, but without any real ties to a particular area (state/ city) or place, I never had a site in mind. Until one fateful evening. J and I took two of our really good friends to an outdoor concert at The Hermitage. We packed up our picnic basket full of treats (dinner), and headed to see the Town Mountain Band. Which, by the way, was really good.

The second we walked on the grounds, I knew. We knew. I'd figure out how to make it work with my budget. Regardless. Our wedding (and reception) had to be there. And the ideas started forming. The magnolia tree practically begged me to put low-hanging lights on it. And basically, everything about the site wanted to have an ethereal, magical feel.

So I went with it. The ideas/ mood board:

I enlised a dear friend of mine to start throwing out ideas. Any idea was accepted. And pinned. After a few weeks of brain-dumps, a clear direction emerged. Mostly because the both of us get distracted by shiny things. See below:

J and I are also drawn to slightly whimsical things. And I want this wedding to be about US. This wasn't just my wedding. It was our wedding. So he had say in quite a few things. Like what his groomsmen and him would wear. (Shopping with J for his wedding suit was hilarious, btw.... "BABE. I LOOK AMAZING IN THIS SUIT.")

Anyway. 

Color palette: Gold glitter.
Flower: Baby's breath.
Food: Traditions Catering. (AMAZING)
Lighting: Blue Steel Lighting. (Pricey, but soooo worth it.)
Site: The Hermitage. (Also pricey, but soooo worth it.)

So there you go. The ideas. They'll come to fruition in the next post.