10 SUMMER DATE NIGHT IDEAS!

Hey Loves,

Today I'd love to share a silly little video I put together with my boyfriend, Austin on 10 Summer Date Night Ideas. I STRONGLY believe that no matter if you've been in a relationship for two years, or twenty, that you should always be dating. What I mean by this is that it's crucial to take each other out for dinner and drinks, try new activities, meet up with friends, etc. Keep each other smiling. 

If you do have children, I know this can often times complicate things and you feel as though you can no longer go out as often. HOWEVER, you guys need some YOU time away from the kids. Make it a plan to go out if not once a week, than every other week. Get yourself a sitter, whip out a fancy dress, and enjoy a night away with your special someone. 

Spring Date Night Ideas!

If you live somewhere with a cold winter and you’re anything like me, you’re DYING for some warm weather right about now. Spring flowers, fresh air - come to momma. As this new season approaches I thought I could give you and your special someone some fun spring date night ideas. 

Get Physical. Literally. Winter always adds on those additional pounds you can no longer hide when those baggy sweaters and leggings come off. Hit the gym together for some extra motivation. If you don’t have a membership, don’t use that as an excuse. The weather is warming up (finally) and you can take a jog outside, go for a hike, or a bike ride. This will help relieve stress and boost your energy. After your work out you can make a yummy protein smoothie together as a reward after you shower off ;)

Sit Outdoors At Your Favorite Restaurant. All the outdoor patios should be opening up just about now. Take advantage of that! Go order yourself a nice glass of wine (or whiskey as my boyfriend would pick), and enjoy the fresh air. 

Go To A Baseball Game. Baseball is back! Score yourself a couple of tickets, and head to the ball park. Sure it’ll be $9 a beer but what the hell, that’s what pregaming is for. It’ll be a great way to get out and do something fun together. (You can find us cheering on the Chicago Cubs.)

A Beer Garden. Pairing beer and food with outdoor scenery? If you wouldn’t like that I question your taste. 

Farmers Market. Most farmers markets around here open right around May. Go walk around the streets of your town and grab some healthy food you’d like to cook together that week. 

Create A Garden. Talk about what you’d like. I love growing my own fruits and veggies (tomatoes, eggplant, cucumber, different kinds of peppers - not to mention my favorite little lemon tree). You’ll need the space to do this and enough sunlight. I also love to plant a variety of flowers. If you don’t have a ton of space or live in an apartment you can buy a few planters and jazz those up with your favorite flowers. 

I hope this helps! Let me know in the comments below what some of your favorite spring date night ideas are. 

xx,

kell

Why Hire A Wedding Planner?

Link

Link

Link

A wise woman once told me, “At your wedding you are the guest of honor, not the host” and that is exactly what I tell all my clients. Everyone is there for YOU and you are meant to enjoy every moment and not worry about what’s going on behind the scenes and how to assist your guests.

There seems to be a big misunderstanding that hiring a wedding planner will cost you a fortune. When in reality, a planner can save you a great deal of money in the long run. I know what you’re thinking...this girl must be crazy - but hear me out. Because we work daily with vendors in the area and have established relationships, we’re often able to get discounts on their services. We also know exactly which ones are reputable and able to fit well within your wedding budget. Most wedding planners also have a few different packages available for their clients. With this, you and your fiancé can pick and choose which services best apply to what you’re looking for, and what you’re able to afford. 

Planning a weddings takes time. In the United States the average time for an engagement is 15 months. Most venues book up around a year in advance (especially late spring-November if you live in an area with cold winter months.) If both you and your fiancé work full time jobs, planning a wedding can be challenging and eat into a huge chunk of your nights and weekends. Having someone handle these tasks for you can be a huge lifesaver. 

To Minimize Stress and Maximize Smiles. Chances are this is one of the biggest days of your life thus far and you deserve to enjoy every second of it. There are plenty of engaged couples out there who want to plan out their wedding all on their own, and that is perfectly fine! But, when it comes down to the actual day of, who wouldn’t want someone to come in and assure everything goes smoothly, allowing you to relax and live in the moment? Finding yourself a wedding planner to come in with a timeline for the day, confirm times with all of your vendors, and run the show behind the scenes is exactly what you need in this case. Like I mentioned earlier, you are the guest of honor, not the host. 

Style and Etiquette. There always seems to be questions when it comes to wedding etiquette. Not only will the planner be able to inform you on the correct way to handle things, but they’ll also be able to share a great amount of intel from working in the industry. Whether it’s the current fashion trends, how to work with a small budget and still have a beautiful wedding, advise and assistance with decor, or how to host 500+ people, a coordinator is who you need to turn to. 

We’re Fun. You’ll be spending a lot of time talking with your wedding coordinator, so it’s important to find one you click well with. Through this whole process I’ve become pretty good friends with several clients. Instead of leaving a million tasks for your maid of honor or your mother (both who likely have things to do of their own) you can leave those details in our hands. 

xx

kell  

Spring Weddings

 Ruffled Blog

 Brides.com

 Wedding Chicks

Style Me Pretty

Tulle And Chantilly

Tulle And Chantilly

Now that winter is almost at it’s tail end it’s time to start diving into some spring wedding tips and tricks. Prepare yourself for pastels and fresh flowers. As much as I LOVE outdoor wedding ceremonies, make sure you have a back up plan that involves indoors or a well secured tent/canopy. Whether we like it or not, spring weather can be very unpredictable hence the saying April showers bring May flowers. Incase it does downpour on your big day, don’t get discouraged. As long as you have a back up plan (which your wedding planner should assist with) you’ll be just fine. PLUS - I’ve seen some really cool wedding photos taken out in the rain for couples who are daring enough to go out for a few shots with their umbrellas. 

There are so many fun spring decor options to jazz up your ceremony and reception sites. A fun and simple DIY is to spray paint some wine bottles (I love gold and shimmery gold but you could also opt for a more pastel color for the spring) and stick some flowers in them. You could then place these at the entry table or as centerpieces. A fun DIY youtube tutorial will be coming soon on this, I promise! Stay tuned, loveys :)

xx,

kell

Cake Cake Cake Cake Cake….

Made From Scratch

Kivalo Photography

Erin Schrad Photography

Kerri Lynne Photography

Erica Obrien Cake Design

Hey Loveys! 

This post is all about wedding cake (obviously) and what types of questions you should be asking your baker. The average cake consists of three tiers and typically will serve anywhere from 125-150 people. Around six months out from your wedding is when you should be determining the style cake you want and start scheduling tastings. By the time four months prior hits you and your fiancé need to make sure you’ve selected and ordered this delicious wedding dessert. 

Note: It is now becoming more popular to serve cupcakes for couples who are not a huge fan of cake or have a lower budget. Great alternative :)

Questions You Should Be Asking:

> What size will be needed for (enter guest count)

> Will there be additional charges for delivery and set up?

> Does the cost include stands, columns or cake supporters?

> Will there be a cake cutting charge if the reception site doesn’t provide one? 

> What deposit is required and when is the final payment due?

> Will it be delivered in layers and then assembled onsite, or will it be delivered ready to go? Are there extra charges for assembly?

xx,

kell

How To Handle Controlling Parents

Totally get it, parents can complicate things when it comes to planning a wedding. I’ve had clients come to me specifically because their mother tries to control every aspect and put an opinion into everything, therefore, they need a middle man to control the situation. This becomes even more difficult to deal with when the parents happen to be funding the wedding. Although it is a big deal to see their child tie the knot, it’s YOUR wedding day and YOUR vision is what matters most. It’s my job to remind the parents of this. One thing I suggest to clients is to think about what is most important to you when envision your big day. You could even make a list - most important to least important - and stick true to the things you know mean the most to you, and let your parents feel needed by allowing them to help with the other things lower down on the list. 

Other complicated situations can arise when dividing up the budget between divorced parents. If one set isn’t as financially stable, often times the more capable parent may agree to pay a greater share. Other times it may just be up to the bride and groom to dig into their savings to help assist with the overall cost. BE SURE to tell both sets of parents at the same time with equal enthusiasm! This is so important. By no means do you want to start the process of planning off on the wrong foot by making one parent feel belittled. 

Overall, try not to upset them. This is a big day for them as well. But on the same token, this is likely the biggest day of your life thus far and your wants need to be the first priority. Don’t lose sight of that.

xx

kell  

Everything Etsy

Link Here

Link Here

Link Here

Link Here

Link Here

Link Here

Link Here

I could go on and on about my love for Etsy but I’ll keep this one short and sweet. This is the perfect site to explore around on when you want to add your own flare to your big day. Not to mention, a cheaper alternative in most cases when it comes to decor. From save the dates, to customized wedding invitations, guest books, cake toppers, centerpieces, this website/app really does have it all. How cute is that table number? All you’d need to buy separately are a few frames to go with it and you’d be all set. 

I linked all of the above photos to their Etsy pages below the picture. Off to the side on the page you will be able to find similar options, or feel free to to browse the hundreds of pages under each category. Warning: it gets’s quite addictive so approach with caution ;)

PS. A future post is coming about Etsy engagement rings, I promise! 

xx

kell

The Ring

Found on one of my favorite blogs livvyland.com

Broklyn View Photography via Style Me Pretty

Debebians

Okay fellas, this post is for your eyes too so pay attention. The point has officially arrived in your relationship where you want to spend the rest of your life with the person you love. What are the first steps in figuring out what ring is right to pop the question with??? I’ll go ahead and break it down for you. 

(Think of what’s important to her before you even begin this process. Would she/he want you to ask their fathers permission, etc. If so, make sure to accomplish these details before attacking these next few steps). 

Step 1: Your budget. How much can you realistically afford on a ring? I hate to break it to you, but they aren’t cheap. The national average as of 2014 is $4,000. On the bright side of things, this is a piece of jewelry that will be worn for the rest of their life, so it should be worth a pretty penny. If money is a concern, there are a few alternative routes such as finding a ring via Etsy (a future blog post on this topic will be coming soon, I promise)! Once you have that figure in mind is when you can begin your research. Make sure to be open with your jeweler about what you can afford so they don’t show you options outside your budget.

Step 2: Investigate. Chances are she might have a Pinterest page dedicated to her dream wedding. If so, bingo - look there. Consult a sister or best friend of hers for some advise if you need extra help determining her style. While your investigating you MUST find out her ring size. Be sneaky about it. Steal a few rings of hers for the day to take shopping with you. Look online at similar styles within your budget to determine where you should shop. Compare the prices online before wandering into a bunch of different stores and this will save you lots of time.

Step 3: Think Ahead. What type of wedding band might complement the engagement ring? Is it important to you that your wedding band match the color of hers? And last but not least, how do you plan on popping the question? 

Step 4: Keep Calm & Carry On. I am SO excited for you guys. I’d bet that everyone else will be too. Keep smiling. So many big things are coming your way and keeping a positive attitude about it all is key. When planning seems too stressful, that’s when you can give me a call ;)

xx

kell  

Welcome To The Blog

Hey everyone! Welcome to the blog :) 

First of all, Happy New Year! I cant tell you how excited I am for this. I’ve been working on both the website and the blog months now and it’s a great feeling to finally be able release it to the public. My website will provide an outline for my wedding planning business and the package deals I provide. Here, you’ll find a deeper look at my life and what all goes on behind the scenes. 

This blog will showcase some of my wonderful clients, their love stories and how together we created their dream wedding. It will also have DIY tutorials for wedding decor, make-up and skin care tutorials for the bride to be, dating and relationship advise, as well as tips and tricks I’ve learned throughout this whole process. 

I will be posting something new every Wednesday. So if you’re anything like me you may want to go grab a glass of wine, a notepad to jot a few tips down, sit back, relax, and stay awhile. I can’t wait to share this experience with all of you. Cheers!

xx

kell