Our NOLA Nuptials: Some Afterthoughts

After we left the church, we stayed outside with all of our family and friends leaving the church to thank them. The photographer caught quite a few of these, but here are the most notable thoughts that I had going in my head during those Kodak moments.

Dearest Mizz K,
Thank you for allowing me to be a party pooper at 2am in NOLA. I know you gals could have lasted longer, but, check it out, I have no under-eye circles due to a serious lack of sleep. I also thank you for being SO helpful that morning of the wedding. My head was in Dreamland, so I needed a dose of reality.

Dearest Miss R,
Thank you for being a great sister and friend. I know we’re almost 10 years apart, but me and you relate on so many other levels. I’m sure you are smiling here and repeatedly thanking Mr. Ballet Flat, because we once shared a room at our parent’s house and now it’s all yours. You’re welcome.

My dear Memaw,
I know it was difficult for you, but I’m so glad that you were able to come to the rehearsal dinner AND the wedding! You looked so beautiful and super happy! I love you.

My dearest best friend from high school,
Gosh doggit! You brought a cute, adorable baby to the wedding. I think I just melted. ::must resist baby fever::

Dear Weather,
Thank you for steering away the impending tropical wave that was supposed to slam NOLA with rain. However, you didn’t have to be so extreme with the sun. Squinting and smiling is too difficult! I should have brought sunglasses.

Stay tuned for a first look at our reception!

Images courtesy of Amanda Meyer Photography

Previous recaps:
Our NOLA Nuptials: The Bridals
Our NOLA Nuptials: Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!
Our NOLA Nuptials: Practice Makes Perfect
Our NOLA Nuptials: It Was All a Blur
Our NOLA Nuptials: Poof, Spray and a Lie
Our NOLA Nuptials: The Finishing Touches
Our NOLA Nuptials: Walk it Out
Our NOLA Nuptials: Making it Official (Part 1)
Our NOLA Nuptials: Making it Official (Part 2)

A Bee’s Life: Ballet Flat Edition

I remember 7 years ago sitting in my college dorm room, hooking my laptop up to the Internet for the first time ever. That’s right folks, my freshman year of college started my whole Internet experience. Previous to that, I thought the computer was for writing English papers and fighting with my siblings as to who could play Oregon Trail next.

I was slowly introduced the Internet with my first e-mail account and AIM screen-name. I then learned how to search on the Internet, which was just amazingly cool to have a wealth of information available to me without running to the 1964 encyclopedia set my parents had or the library. I was hooked from then on!

The Wonderful World of Blogging

The first time I heard about a blog was when I was a resident assistant in the dorms. I was talking to this resident about classes and he told me his English teacher made them all start a blog. I remember thinking, huh? An online journal? What a dork!

After a few months of hearing my freshman residents talk about their little blogging community on LiveJournal, I took an evening to finally make my own blog. It was mainly about how much I loathed studying, fun campus activities I went to and just normal, hormonal college girl vents. Looking back on my writing style then, I’m pretty embarrassed. Let’s just say this math/science geek was not good in her English composition classes.

I blogged on LiveJournal throughout my college career and after that, I realized I needed to focus on the real world and just leave it at that.

A few months later, I started lurking around The Knot and The Nest  just to get ideas of what it was like to be engaged and married. I had a feeling the proposal was coming soon, so I was curious. It was then that I found a cooking board and was re-introduced to blogs – this time, food blogs. I found the pictures and recipes drool-worthy, but I was hardly any good at cooking, baking or better yet, photography. The ladies on the forums were so helpful and inspiring, so in January of 2008, I started Skinny Food by Amy.

How I Found the ‘Bee

Two short months later, I became engaged. I decided to join the ranks of bride bloggers, because I wanted to one day look back on our planning days and possibly even make a scrapbook out of it somehow. I became a wedding blog stalker instantly, curious to see the trends of brides. I was so inspired reading personal bride’s blogs, and somehow, in my blog stalking, I came across Weddingbee.

I added it to my Google Reader and started reading. I had no idea what Weddingbee was about, but I was gathering so many great ideas from there, so I decided to go to the actual site and play around.

I wasn’t really active on Weddingbee before applying, because I learned a harsh lesson on The Knot about internet snark. So, I lurked around mainly, and eventually, I found the page about applying to blog for Weddingbee.

Getting the guts to press “send”

I was very intimidated by the application page. Only 5% of applicants were chosen? I kept telling myself that as much as I would love the opportunity to blog on here, there was no way I’d be chosen. Writing just isn’t my strong point.

After beefing up my wedding blog for a couple of weeks, the 8 month mark hit. I felt that I needed to decide if I wanted to go for it or not. My application was filled out, but I just kept seeing Weddingbee as the cream of the crop of brides. I thought I was too boring and didn’t really have anything unique to offer.

Then, I started trying to think about what I COULD provide to the Weddingbee community, because, hey, I could be cool like the other ‘bee bloggers, right? So, I wrote up an email to Weddingbee, attached my application and stared at the screen for a good 10 minutes before sending.

A couple of days later, there was an email in my box from Mrs. Penguin! My stomach sunk. I was scared to open the email, but I took a breath, quickly scanned the email for an “I’m sorry to inform you…”, but MUCH to my surprise, I was accepted! I found out at work, so all I could do was tell myself to take deep breaths and to get some Starbucks for lunch because I earned it!

When it came to choosing my character, I emailed Mrs. Penguin immediately that I wanted to be Miss Flip Flop. The shoes and make-up icons were the newest groups, and that one was an instant fit for me since I could live in flip flops and be completely happy in life. Unfortunately, another ‘bee blogger beat me to the punch, so I went with my second choice, Miss Ballet Flat. I wear ballet flats to work everyday, because of my sloppy ankles and crazy height (I’m 5′10″/5′11″ish). Plus, the icon was pink, which is one of my favorite colors.

Blogging Advice

While I don’t think I’m the best blogger out there, I like to think that I could lend some advice to someone starting out. If you were to see my first entries in my wedding blog, you would find me to be scatterbrained and just confused. I’ve come a long way since then, but I still have much to learn as well.

I learned not to press publish when I’m done writing. I take a couple hours or a day to just get away from the post and then come back with a fresh mind, read it over and make edits.

I’ve also learned, just like Flamingo, that pictures are everything. Just a bunch of words can be tedious and tiring for a reader to look over, and eye candy can just help to break things up. (Let this post be the exception. I have nothing really to illustrate about how I came to be a ‘bee blogger!)

If you think it isn’t blog-worthy, you are probably wrong. So many times have I sat there planning with internal struggles, thinking that I was all alone and pretty embarrassed about how I felt. I just couldn’t bring myself to blog about some topics at all. The next week, there was a post from another bee about the same thing I was going through. Most of the time, you will NOT be alone with your thoughts and feelings. Someone will relate.

You will also need to develop a strong back bone. You are blogging on the Internet, and for the most part, everyone is very nice and supportive. However, the snark can sometimes come out, and you will need to learn to let these things roll off your back. Otherwise, it will drive you nuts and make you self- conscious about future posts.

Mostly, like many bees before me said, be yourself. Don’t try to fit into a mold or a stereotype here. Find and embrace your writing style. Once you do that, blogging will be much much easier and enjoyable!

Life as a Newlywed

I still owe y’all quite a few recaps, so this isn’t the last you hear from me on Weddingbee. I still lurk around the boards and read every blog entry, and often times, find my newlywed self posting comments since y’all are so awesome in this Weddingbee community. I just can’t let go of Weddingbee quite yet.

As far as my blogging goes since the wedding, I still have my food blog, which I am having a blast writing for. My photos aren’t the best, but I’m progressively learning. I also recently started my newlywed blog, which isn’t much for now, since life is really nothing but house cleaning and garage sale planning. Let me tell you, combining two of everything plus wedding gifts equals some serious cleaning and decluttering, so don’t think that life post-wedding will be boring. There’s lots to do!

I’m feeling crafty!

You know, I’ve been pretty content post-wedding as far as no more planning goes. I know a lot of brides get withdrawals from anticipating the big day or even from planning.  I mean, you plan for anywhere from months to a few years and it’s all over in a day? That’s kind of a bummer, don’t you think? Well, I don’t miss the contracts, the time lines,  worrying about how I will look. I don’t miss it at all.

What do you think I miss the most? C’mon hive, you know me…you know this!

Our NOLA Nuptials: The Bridals

Thanks to all of you who have been following me and have patiently awaited posts about what the dress looked like. I was really worried that Mr. Ballet Flat would accidentally come across a post, and I wanted to keep the dress a complete surprise! You will definitely see the details of the dress in the bridal pictures.

So, I’m from the New Orleans area, and it was hard to choose a place to take pictures. The city is so gorgeous to me, but since it was the Spring, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful New Orleans City Park.

That morning, I had a bit of a snag in my plans. I currently wear contact lenses, and I’m pretty blind without visual assistance. That morning, my contact tore. So, I was walking around the park with very blurred vision, and I was worried that the pictures would look weird since I had trouble focusing on where the camera lens was. (For what it’s worth, I did wear glasses that day. I wasn’t walking/driving around blind!)

Thankfully, my photographer, Amanda Meyer, came to the rescue and really helped me out! Amanda, if you are reading this, thanks for kicking away spikey black caterpillars that I couldn’t see and for leading me around the park!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the session. I have them in black and white as well, but I think it gives you a better idea of why I chose City Park with all of the colors.

Images credit: Amanda Meyer Photography

As you can probably tell, I had my hair/make-up trial done that day. I ended up LOVING the first look they came up with for my make-up, and the photo of inspiration was the “sweet” one from this entry I posted a while back. Thanks to everyone for your help with choosing the look!

Spring melts the stress away!

This past weekend, I was planning on finishing the invitations. However, on Saturday, I woke up to a beautiful Spring day in Louisiana. The weather was perfect, and I just wanted to be outside. Mr. Ballet Flat and his parents planned on painting the house, and my task was to landscape! It was a great, much needed break away from the stress of wedding planning. It felt like a normal, married-life, type of day!

Just a little information about myself as a child. I used to hate gardening, but my mom is a horticulturist. Mom and Dad Ballet Flat would take all four Ballet Flat children to the local nursery and make a date day out of it. If you’re from Louisiana, you have to realize just how MISERABLE this is. Humidity + boring flowers…I mean, blah to nursery days! It made me HATE anything garden related! Now that I’m an older Ballet Flat, I have an appreciation for a nice garden. Weird how things change, right?

Anyway, I started at Lowe’s with my $10 off $50 coupon handy, and bought some herbs, potting mix and begonias. After four hours of work, here is our front yard!! You can see the hydrangea totally waking up and loving the Spring season!

And here is our new herb collection (along with some other potted plants).

I’m happy about my productive, stress-free day. It felt good to just get a break away from the Gocco and hand-writing.

What have you done when the planning gets rough?

Finding that balance…

I’ve noticed a lot with planning our big day, there is a lot of trouble with finding that balance.

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One of the biggest decisions that a couple makes is where they are going to live post-wedding. For Mr. BF and I, the decision was simple. We both loved Baton Rouge, and despite my New Orleans roots, I was ready and eager to move out there permanently. The problem was when should I make the move? My dilemma was difficult…I had a great job in NOLA, had the vacation time needed for the honeymoon and really got along well with some of my coworkers. However, I realized I didn’t want to change jobs and get married at the same time, so last Fall, I decided to put my resume out there.

Well, I found a job and moved out to Baton Rouge. The dilemma now? No vacation time…I started at zero. That’s right, how am I going to enjoy a 9 day vacation with Mr. BF knowing that it won’t be completely paid? Well, doing the math in the beginning, I figured only two days would be unpaid. Simple enough. However, with the wedding in the New Orleans area, there are things that have to get done on weekdays to keep my sanity on safe level. The drive alone from New Orleans to Baton Rouge is about 1.5 hours each way, so whenever I need to go down there, that’s 3 hours vacation time gone, just for travel!

My dress alone is pretty PTO (paid time off) consuming. The store I purchased from in the New Orleans area only has alterations from 10-2 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I could go Saturday, but store employees and local knotties have informed me that this is bridezilla central. I’m not really much for crowds, so I have to take days off to get fitted, refitted and with this weight loss, it won’t be easy.

I’m sure there will be other days where I’ll need to go back down to take care of the little things, but really hive, please tell me I’m not the only bride facing this dilemma! I’m really looking forward to the honeymoon, but I feel awful that some of it will be unpaid!

Stepping back….

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It’s truly one of my favorite times of the year. I really love when the weather changes, the stores get an overload of pumpkin puree and there are articles all over the web about the perfect Thanksgiving. Sometimes, it takes a lot to step back and reflect on the great things you have. Of course, I’m human and can’t wait for the turkey yumminess. However, as you all know, there is so much more to this holiday.

As a bride, sometimes it’s hard to get my mind off of my DIY invitations, booking the limousine and updating our pristine registry. It’s hard to lay back and relax a little when things don’t seem to be going perfectly for the big day!

Really though, now’s the time to really think deeply about what life has given you. Especially in this economy, if you have a job, a roof over your head and food on the table, that’s a lot to be appreciative of. It pains me to read about companies going under, people losing their jobs, their homes. The things most of us can just take for granted.

So hive, I ask you to take a step back and think about 5 things you are thankful for this year. If you want to share, please do!

I’ll share with my 5 things with you… (of course there are so many more)

1. God
2. A loving, close-knit family
3. A wonderful Mr. Ballet Flat
4. My 5 senses, all in pretty good working order
5. Of course, a secure job

Wherever have I been?

I have to apologize for my absence last week, hive! This Ballet Flat had a root canal Tuesday (soda is evil, kids) and said bye bye to my job in New Orleans. I officially moved to Baton Rouge, and I couldn’t be happier!! (because I’m now in the same city as Mr. Ballet Flat!)

Home of..

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That’s the capitol building for Louisiana, and being on the tippy top of that building, you have a very beautiful, serene view. I highly recommend this for any Baton Rouge-ians (after all, it’s free!).

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Tiger Stadium…only the happiest place you can be on a Saturday!

Now, I won’t lie…I miss my family. I miss them dearly, and I miss my old job too! In fact, there was a huge surprise for me that Friday at work that I am SO appreciative of my coworkers for! It made the day wonderful, yet that much harder to leave. (I’ll save that for another post!)

So, naturally, after a difficult week, I broke down last Friday after I got to Baton Rouge, and thankfully, Mr. Ballet Flat knew how I could drown my sorrows. Chick-Fil-A’s seasonal Peppermint Choc. Chip milkshake!! (I’m such a kid, right?)

If you made the move to your fiance, was it hard on you or was the transition easy?

The Secret Life of Bees: Ballet Flat Edition

I’m a fairly dull person. I don’t really have a super interesting secret about myself, but I would love to introduce the hive into a different part of my life: the foodie.

I love to cook and bake. I wouldn’t be able to say the same a year ago, but in the past few months, I’ve grown a true appreciation for cooking and baking.

I have to thank The Nest for this. See, they have a forum called “What’s Cooking?” and well, yes, the Nest is for the married technically, but uhm, I ventured off and found a great group of gals who have helped me develop this passion for all things food.

I watch Food Network religiously, and just subscribed to their new magazine. Mr. Ballet Flat does grow tired of me staring at chefs meticulously garnishing beautiful dishes, but he knows it’s grown to be a big hobby of mine. Plus, for the most part, he has no problem trying the dishes I make!

I even have a food blog. It may seem lame to some, but there is a whole community of food bloggers out there who have basically taught me everything I know! I take it as a challenge to lighten up regular recipes at times, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I have almost 100 food blogs that I keep in my google reader, and read religiously.

Another hobby I’ve gotten out of being a foodie is cake decorating. I started that little hobby last spring, and I’ve grown proud of my little masterpieces. I don’t even want to show the world my attempts at cake decorating before taking Wilton classes, but let’s just say Cake Wrecks (hilarious blog by the way) would have a lot to make fun of! I’m especially excited about making an elephant jungle cake for Mr. Ballet Flat’s nephew next weekend! Here’s some of the favorite things I’ve learned to make: royal icing and gumpaste flowers! (seriously, they aren’t hard at ALL to make!)

I guess I can say the secret is out. I hope no one thinks I’m too weird!

Are there any foodie brides out there? I can’t be the only one, right?

Not so Glare-morous

Most of my life, I’ve worn glasses. They don’t aggravate me when I wear them at all. It’s something I’ve gotten used to, but just recently, in thinking about our wedding, I want to be a bride with no glasses. No, I’m not just taking off my glasses. If I did that, everything would be blurry and my klutz level would rise to dangerous proportions. Reason for the switch then? Glare…yeah, you glasses wearing brides know ALL about glare!

I’ve been HAUNTED by glare in yearbook pictures, candids, prom night and almost engagement. However, our wedding photog is excellent and she just wasn’t going to let it happen! Check out our e-pics for proof!

Look at an example of my tragic glare that I found all over my facebook pictures. Sorry for the bad quality.

I decided to avoid any type of glare, I’m going to wear contacts. *gasp* Well, I’ve worn contacts before in college. I just quit because I’m lazy and really don’t like fighting with my eyes in the morning. Here’s a picture of me with contacts.

Now, the fun part: Picking the contacts. I’m naturally greenish-greyish (weird color) eyes. Here, I’m wearing aqua enhancements. Acuvue sells these enhancement contacts that just add tint to light colored eyes. It doesn’t look fake at all!

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I really liked the aqua when I wore them, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to get those again.

If you are hesitant about colors, you can always go to the site for a free trial pair or even a virtual look at how the colors would look on you. However, I couldn’t get my eyes to line up quite right in the picture to show you an example. It’s a little hard to work with, but hey, can’t beat a free trial pair!

Are any of you glasses wearing brides looking to wear contacts?