Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Our Wedding: Ceremony Details

Itssssssss Wedding Wednesdaaayyy!
Today I'm sharing the details of our actual wedding ceremony. This post,
much like the ceremony itself, should be a quick one because fortunately Dad's catholicism 
did not hold to be the main religion in our house. Thank you, Lutheran Mom.
Don't get me wrong, love Catholic weddings! 
Refer back to this post > Lisby Wedding < which was gorgeous, but I already
have the smallest attention span (Oh, look! Glitter!) and I just don't think I could
physically make it through anything longer than 30 minutes.

I know what you're thinking.. wasn't this suppose to be a short post? 
Yes. However, remember the small attention span thing? 

Anyway! Without further adieu, our wedding ceremony:
 Seriously, could the sky be any more perfect?
 At the ceremony site we displayed pictures of our parents & grandparents
on their wedding day. I was so happy that we were able to dig all of these pictures up!
Another beautiful Morgann Hill Designs creation.
Our Log Arbor Arch that I was dyyyying for!

Bridesmaid Brooke (also Bryan's sister)
Bridesmaid Megan
Bridesmaid Mandy, who was 7 months pregnant & glowing!
 Bridesmaid Tiffany
 Bridesmaid Jill
Bridesmaid Shannon
 Bridesmaid Haley
 Alyson, my Maid of Honor! EVERY MOH's face should look like this.. priceless.
Ring Bearer & Flower Girl - my niece and nephew! They did so dang good.

First Look- holy handsome Husband :)

LOVE this one!
Annnddd the kiss :)
And a second kiss on the way out. Why not?

Seriously best. day. ever. 

Venue: BG Equestrian Resort - Ocala, Florida
Rentals: Party Time Rentals
Florals: Blooming Events
Gown: Alfred Angelo
Bridesmaid Gowns: Alfred Angelo 
Bouquet: Morgann Hill Designs

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Our Wedding: The Flowers

Happy Wedding Wednesday!
Now that I have all 1200 of my wedding photos back
(seriously took me almost 2 hours and 3 boxes of kleenex to go through!)
I'm continuing our wedding recap and I promise to share each and every detail with you.

First up, only because I could NOT wait to review Morgann Hill Designs
and TheBridesBouquet.com, are the flowers.

When the whooooole wedding planning process first began, my fabulous planner immediately
sat me down and asked me to name the top 3 most important aspects of our wedding and
then, of course, my least important. Flowers, y'all, were NOT at the top of the list.
One of my bridesmaid's, and dearest friend's, Mom is a florist and I remember 
thinking she was going to slap me upside my head when I informed her of
where exactly the florals weighed in on my wedding list. That would be damn near the bottom.
I just thought that they were such an unnecessary cost in the midst of other items.
AHEM... like the $3,000 I spent on drapes. Say whaaaattt?? Yes. That happened.
Like any Southern bride who spends way too much time on Pinterest, I pictured
a large bouquet of assorted flowers for myself- peonies, roses, etc.
And let me tell you ladies, peonies? Almost $35 a stem in Florida in March.
Not an option.
So I started looking at silk flowers.
After searching and searching through listings on Etsy, I discovered Morgann Hill Designs.
One word: love. 
She was SO wonderful and I would absolutely recommend her.
I purchased my bridal bouquet from Morgann's shop and my girls' flowers came from
TheBridesBouquet.com
My bridesmaid's bouquets arrived first and I was verrryyyyy happy with those.
It was EXACTLY the look I was going for- full and beautiful!
My package from Morgann Hill arrived a few weeks before my wedding and I was practically
running red lights on my way home when I got the email that the package had been
delivered to my front door step.

For the ceremony and reception centerpieces I used fresh florals, pale pink hydrangeas, 
from Jill Stephens with Blooming Events.
SHE was also great to work with! After hearing horror stories about pink flowers
showing up purple, I guess you could say I was florally scarred ? 
However, my hydrangeas came out perfect and I even scattered some throughout areas at the reception.
Needless to say we were very happy with all of our florals and we saved a fortune!

See Also:
Our Wedding: Pre-Ceremony Photos


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Recipe Swap: Creamy Chicken Bake

I know, I KNOW... me? Linking up for a recipe swap?
Someone is getting this cooking thing down over heeerreee!

We are fresh back from our mini vacation to Turks & Caicos this past weekend and I wanted 
to share this recipe! No, I didn't cook last night. I was too busy trying to comprehend
the fact that I was no longer on vacation and preparing for a Tuesday morning back in the real world.
We had Firehouse subs.
#guilty

But the week prior I made this tasty dinner and have been looking for a fun recipe linkup!
So horraaayy for Martinis & Bikinis and Green Fashionista for hosting! 
Creamy Chicken Bake:
  • 2 1/2 to 3 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (I use 4 large breasts)
  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (10 3/4 ounces, condensed )
  • 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (10 3/4 ounces, condensed)
  • 1 Cup Sour Cream
  • 8 oz can Mushrooms drained (stems and pieces) *optional
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Chives (chopped) 
  • Few dashes of Paprika  
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish or similar size. Place chicken breast in baking dish in a single layer - lightly salt and pepper. Mix soups, sour cream, onion powder, mushrooms, chives and water.  Evenly pour over top of chicken and lightly sprinkle with paprika.  Bake on middle rack for 1 hour, until chicken breast is cooked thoroughly and internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.

I like serving it with rice and broccoli! My husband seriously ate. this. up.
No joke.

Full recap on our Turks and Caicos trip later this week!
Now excuse me while I go back to day dreaming about this fabulous view...