Vintage Pecan

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Wedding Wednesday: Tie the Knot Tech

Happy Wednesday!! Half way to the weekend! Is it just me or in the summer (if you work) do you live from weekend to weekend and just sort of go through the motions during the week? I feel like I've been doing that since early May! Everybody else is out at the pool or on vacation at the beach and I'm over here working the days away... at least its in the cool air conditioning! Lawd have mercy it's been HOT! Columbia is "Famously Hot" but geeze it's been over 100 for the past 11 days!

Speaking of work, we were upgraded this week from Office 10 to Office 13. I was working on a spreadsheet with the new version of Excel and before you open a new workbook it gives you template options... The ones I have starred are the ones that I found to be useful for wedding planning.
These are great tech tools to use to make organizing your guest list, wedding budget and honeymoon planning easy and efficient! I call this "Tie the Knot Tech!"

First is the Wedding Invite Tracker! Here you can enter in your wedding details, it even has a built in countdown, and then it's a pre-set wedding guest roster. You enter your guests' names, address etc. and then it has a place for you to mark that you sent them an invite and then a place to add their RSVP response. You can even customize the colors and fonts to match your wedding!
Once you have entered in your guest info, it tabulates the totals for you! So no more counting and re-counting! THEN it does the coolest thing... it tabulates the RSVPs on a separate spreadsheet.
This is a super helpful too! Plus you could send it to your caterer etc. If you don't have Office 13 you might could poke around on Office 10 and try to find it. I did email it to myself and opened it on Will's computer with Office 10 and it worked just fine so it is at least compatible even if it was built in Office 13.

The next tech tool is the wedding budget spreadsheet. If you are anything like me, creating a budget from scratch is an overwhelming task! Excel has already done the grunt work, you just simply fill it in with your numbers. It comes pre-set, but as you change the numbers it makes the corrections. Again, you can customize this with your wedding colors, but I thought the little clip art icons were super cute! This also includes a wedding day countdown & the pie chart is useful too!

Finally, I found a workbook that helps you keep track of honeymoon planning! You might have to share this with your fiance, since they are suppose to be on top of that part! :) This workbook gives you multiple tabs for all the details of your trip! Once it's completed you could send it to your parents, etc. so they have all your trip details in one space!
Here is a breakdown of one of the pages.... I didn't play around with customization of this workbook, but I'm sure you could. I thought it was adorable just like it is! Very simple and easy to use!

If you can't already tell I love love love having a wedding countdown! I have one on my phone through an app called It's Almost Time. It keeps up with it down to the Milli-second! On days I don't log into my blog or use these wedding tools I can just click on the app and it will tell me how many days until our BIG DAY!

It's been a busy couple of weeks in our house! We visited Will's parents in Florence, weekend before last and we attended a couples shower for one of his groomsman who is getting married in August! While we were there I came down with an awful summer cold so I was pretty much down for the count last week. I did however find some energy to go to a bridal expo that our venue, The Palmetto Club, hosted. A couple of my vendors were there so it was great to see them again, I met someone who might do our invites, and I found some amazing table cloth overlays to rent! Mom took this picture of us, but you can see the ballroom of our venue in the background (I LOVE the wallpaper!) and a little bit of the table overlays at the bottom of the picture. And yes, I did wear a shirt with 2 birds on purpose! Also, LOOK at those amazing Peonies!


More exciting news that isn't exactly wedding related is that Will got a promotion to the branch manager of the Well's Fargo branch on Main St. in Columbia! We are both so excited for this opportunity and milestone in his career. I'm super proud of him and all that he has accomplished!

This was pretty much me when I found out he got it....

Friday, June 5, 2015

5 on Friday: What I'm Loving Lately!


Linking up with April over at A.Liz Adventures again for 5 on Friday! Can I get an Amen that it's FINALLY Friday! This has been a long week. Possibly because it got started off on the wrong foot. Will's mom's hip displaced again (for the like 5th time since October), so she has spent since Sunday in the hospital and finally had surgery Wednesday night. Will has had some late nights, I've been hosting his grandmother over night, and it's stormed every day! But sunny skies ahead for the weekend! I mean that literally and figuratively. She should be discharged today, we have a cake tasting Saturday and we plan to squeeze in a little pool and R&R on Sunday afternoon!

I thought I'd share a few things I'm loving lately...

One: SouthernWeddings.com aka Bridal Crack
As you may have noticed I now have a Southern Bride Blogger logo on the blog now. I love that they interact with their readers by giving those of us who have blogs a space to be seen. I also enjoy reading other brides blogs on the site. Southern Weddings is an amazing resource for great ideas to incorporate some "southernisms" in the big day! Love love love this site.

Two: My *new* little button for my blog!
Also over to the right you may have noticed my new button! One of my friends made the button for my other blog, but I figured out how to make my own this time! Oh, the power of Google! 
Three: My Keen Sandals
I bought a pair about a year ago when I was going to Disney. I wanted a shoe that would be cool, comfortable, light weight and could get wet! These are the best! I will say they aren't the most fashion forward shoe, but I'll take function over fashion any day. Especially when it comes to comfort! Over the fall/winter I'd forgotten about these treasures in my closet and when we went to the lake last weekend I broke them out! My parents both have a pair too, so we were "Peachy-Keen!" Well except for the boat is still broken. :/
                                        
Four: Wedding Planning
I really am enjoying the wedding planning process! I'm loving getting things checked off the "to-do" list! I'm hoping to check "cake" off that list after tomorrow! The worst part of the planning is the guest list. It's SO hard. I want everybody I've ever known to be there for our big day, but that's obviously not possible because we don't have it like that. My main goal for the day is for my guests to feel as special as we do for being a part of the day.

Five: All the beautiful flowers in bloom
Mom and I walked around the block a few nights ago, and I guess because of all the rain we've had lately, the hydrangeas are showing out! They are one of my favorite flowers, however, I love them best when they are on a bush not in a bouquet. I love how their color depends on the soil they are in. Some are light blue, others are deep purple. There are so many varieties too. The lace cap is my favorite. My black stem hydrangeas in the backyard should start blooming this week!

T.G.I.F- I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Vendor Reveal

Wedding Wednesday again and as I mentioned in my last couple of posts, things were moving and shaking in the planning & I can finally reveal a few of the vendors that we have selected**, put down our deposit, and locked in! Just a note to say that one of the main reasons I chose the vendors that I did is because they are all local to Lexington or the Columbia area. I believe it is so important to support local business owners in order to support the local economy. The benefit to me is, they are all within a 20 minute distance from either my work or my house, so if I need to meet with them it's very convenient! Shop Local.

First we confirmed the DJ, Troy Fite. I have actually worked with Troy before when I was directing a reception a few years ago. Will attended that with me and we knew by the end of that night that Troy would HAVE to be our DJ. We had one consultation to seal the deal and we are set! I'm so excited to work with him on our own big day! I know he will be entertaining but NOT the entertainment! We've already started working on what songs we want played for the important dances, and I'm gathering a few other important songs to add to the list. Music is so important to me, and I know that will be reflected through what he plays. Most importantly, Troy is going to make it SO.MUCH.FUN!!

Image result for dj

Second we confirmed the Florist, Lexington Florist. My first consultation with them was on Good Friday, and I was a walk-in. No appointment, and she spent over an hour with me sifting through my Pinterest board trying to figure out what I needed. My mom wasn't with me and flowers are her thing so I felt like a lost sheep! She figured up all that we needed and I walked out the door with a quote! They come highly recommended by many of my friends and several of my mothers friends. I have gone back for a second consult, once I narrowed down a bit better what I needed and my mom helped. I honestly have to say, this has been the only part in the wedding planning where I felt overwhelmed. All flowers are pretty, but I have a feeling we won't be disappointed with the way they arrange them and display them!

Little Details | Vintage Wedding Rentals at Vintage Origami #peach #lantern #centerpiece

Finally, I'm excited to announce that I've chosen my photographer!! Jessica Roberts Photography I AM SO thrilled that our styles and visions mesh well and I can't wait to work with her! First of all she is the sweetest person and I can already tell that she will do whatever to capture my day perfectly. Second, she is new to the Columbia area, so I'm glad that I am one of her first clients in her new city! Since I have some prior knowledge of the wedding industry in Columbia I am introducing her to a few vendors and I think we will both gain from our experience of working together.
Ultimately, I chose Jessica not only because she is local but because of her personal statement on her site. "For me, I need to photograph things that have meaning. I need to photograph things that have emotion to truly enjoy what I’m doing. This is why you see 90% of my website pointing towards weddings and births! Those two events, the day you become a wife and the day you become a mom, those are the most important days of your life. No others compare." When I read that, I teared up and realized that was what I was looking for in a photographer. I'm so grateful to start this friendship that I hope will continue as my family continues to grow. :) Ok, now just stop for a moment and admire this shot... light, airy, romantic and southern. DONE.

columbia sc wedding photographer engagement

Now, I have to say, I broke my "Shop Local" rule when I purchased my dress a few weekends ago. Yes, you read that right, I said Yes to the dress!! Columbia has a very limited selection of bridal boutiques and we had heard good things about a couple in Augusta, GA. I spent the Saturday before Mother's Day with my mom, both grandmothers and my dad as the chauffeur, visiting 3 bridal shops. One in Aiken, and the other 2 in Augusta. I tried on about 20 dresses, and the 3rd one at the 3rd store was the perfect one. So I guess the 3rd time really is the charm! That 3rd store was Elegant Bridals and Ms. Traci was my consultant. I had THE BEST experience and so did my family! No picture with this vendor because my dress is TOP SECRET, but I highly recommend Elegant Bridals!! There will be an entire post dedicated to my dress and shopping experience post-wedding!

PS. You might have noticed that snazzy new logo to the right! I'm excited that I am listed as a Southern Bride Blogger on SouthernWeddings.com. Let me just say that site is bridal crack! New Life Goal: to be featured as a real wedding on their site or in their magazine. This southern girl couldn't ask for anything more!

More vendor reveals to come, but I wanted to share what was completed so far and brag about my choices. **As a disclaimer, none of these vendors asked me to give them a review or advertise their business. I simply wanted to express my excitement and share my wonderful experience in selecting them to be a part of our day!**





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