It seems to surprise people that I have always dreamed of my wedding day. It could be that I have always been a tomboy. But that really annoys me because tomboy or not… it shouldn’t be shocking that I have had thoughts about how I want my wedding to go down. Things over the years, I have changed my mind on or even gotten rid of altogether (such as church weddings). Now of course when I meet someone I will have to amend things because it is not just my wedding. Recently, a friend of mine and I were talking hypothetically about what are weddings would consist of and while I had given a lot of thought to it in the past… I found that my thoughts had changed drastically from when I was 13. (Thank Goodness.) I remember having a conversation with my sister a couple of weeks ago where she said that she used to think about her wedding as a kid. But the older that she gets she is learning towards heading to a courthouse. I am more leaning towards eloping. So as is the case with my posts… let’s jump into what I envision for my special day.

I used to think that weddings had to happen in a church. Obviously, that was a thoughts of a child. I have lost interest in having a wedding inside period. Seems stuffy. The older me has settled on some sort of destination wedding. It will be a sort of built in vacation for those that are invited but we will get to that too. I have had a few places that have crossed my mind.

• Botanical Gardens ( I have an affinity for gardens so that is my thing… although this is usually SUPER expensive.)
• The Carlsbad Flower Fields in Carlsbad California (https://www.theflowerfields.com/attractions-and-events/weddings-occasions/)
•  Cedar Lakes Estate in Port Jervis, NY (https://www.cedarlakesestate.com/)
• Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa (https://www.herecomestheguide.com/wedding-venues/southern-california/hyatt-regency-huntington-beach-resort-spa)
• Haiku Gardens (https://www.herecomestheguide.com/wedding-venues/hawaii/haiku-gardens)
• Yankee Clipper Inn (https://www.herecomestheguide.com/wedding-venues/massachusetts/yankee-clipper-inn)
• Legends on the Niagara (https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit/weddings/legends-on-the-niagara-2/)
• Martha’s Vineyard (https://www.mvy.com/weddings.html)
• Napa Valley (https://www.visitnapavalley.com/weddings/venues/)

I will admit here that I started leaning towards destinations weddings because I liked the idea of possibly getting a wedding and a honeymoon in one. I am not leaning towards that as much anymore mostly because my husband to be (whoever he is) may not want that or may want to destination somewhere and honeymoon in another. Both of these things are fine with me. The other thing that started me to leaning towards destination weddings is the very awesome invitation ideas. (I enjoy getting things in the mail and there is a huge bonus when those things are awesome. ) There are a few that I have picked out for the destination wedding which is or will be mine. Here is where not doing the reading for your college class and looking through pinterest has paid off.

If you are interested in these… Check out this person’s Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/Luckyladypaper?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=517961471

Now in regards to save the date cards… There are several great ones that I enjoy. But I will share with you guys the top two. I really like the boarding pass one. I am the nerd who keeps things like that from a trip. So that I may scrapbook it later. I still have a ticket stub that I friend of mine bought me for a concert that was about 10 years ago. Anyway… here we go.

Now I am more into the venues and the invitations. But most people are into the dress. But to tell you the truth… I can’t say that is my primary fixation. Does that mean I haven’t glanced at a few? Sure. It helps when your friends around you are getting married. Because then they drag you off to the dress store and get you fitted. Also thank goodness that as a bridesmaid I wasn’t stuck with an ugly dress. For a tomboy that can be scarring. (Great friends who know your shortcoming also makes dress shopping not terrible.) Did I get immense pleasure from looking at these dresses…? Of course, who doesn’t want to look good on their day? Alright, Alright… so let’s see them right?

Oddly enough, I have always had a picture in my mind about what I want my bouquet to look like. Of course, I pictured tossing the bouquet over my shoulder to see who will catch it. I have gone back in forth in my mind for many years about which flowers I want to include. (Sunflowers have been in and out for years.) But let see what has caught my eye.

I haven’t given much thought to the idea of bridesmaid dresses. This is odd. Maybe not. But I was more focused on the venue. Pinterest knows how to help with that. (Honestly, I am shocked that I finished college. There was so many papers that almost didn’t get turned in.) Here are a few that I like… but honestly… my girls may try these on and we may all hate them. Nothing like have to go back to the drawing board.

So since I want the bridesmaids to wear royal blue dresses. I think I will have the groomsman wear silver/gray tuxedos with royal blue vest and necktie. I hate bow ties and ascots (don’t ask me why.) I really hope my future husband doesn’t love them because I would have to give in…. UGH. And I really can’t stand cummerbunds….

Do I see myself traipsing down the aisle in high heels? No. That is not my style. Do you know how much I love my comfort. Heels ain’t it. There are some awesome ones too. They definitely belong to women who will appreciate it. Sandals it is. I will have to find some that match my dress. But I prefer to be comfortable. I can just imagine the people that would have “helpful” input. But then again those people will not be invited.

Because Pinterest seems to have the answer for everything or maybe it gives answers to questions that I didn’t know I needed answered. But I had to pick wedding colors. It helps with the theme supposedly. Royal Blue and Silver it is. (I am really pretty simple.) Some things just make sense. I am a fan of royal blue. So lets look at the motifs. Some stuff is just horrendous. But I think it can be done with taste.

I feel like I really need to be thinking about what goes on the tables and centerpieces and all that… But I am not sure that I care at this moment in time. (I mean seat sashes? I just view that as costing more money… and I really don’t want that.) Maybe I will get there. I did see some things that I may want to mimic though.

So that brings me to wedding cake. By the way, I really don’t care for cake. A friend of mine laughed she she saw my pins on my wedding board on Pinterest. She said “For a person who doesn’t like cake, you sure have a lot wedding cakes on your board.” I had to think about that a moment and I came to the conclusion that even though I don’t like cake, I don’t want to deprive my guests of their cake eating experience. But that doesn’t mean we are going with 7 tier cake. Also I don’t want a bunch of waste of what people left behind.

So transportation wise…. I am not into limos. I mean this isn’t a junior prom. I mean there is the vintage car thing I would like to do I would be too nervous but I would be too nervous and crash. (Trust me, I see it in my mind’s eye.) I could get one my brother’s to drive me up. (Both of them would love that. They are both better drivers than me. Don’t tell them that though. I have ridden with the next oldest brother. He is nice and cautious. The youngest brother was able to park my car when we went to a basketball… (as you see I have thought a lot about this.) My first idea is a bit cliche. But I enjoy the idea of a horse drawn carriage. I want to feel like Cinderella as I ride along with my very own Prince Charming.

I have left rings to this far down because I am not a big jewelry person and not great at keeping up with things. But when my friend was getting married… (I only have two married friends…. and one getting married in 2 weeks.) But we stopped at Jared’s and I was able to peruse rings that a man in the distant future will bestow on me someday. I’ll admit prior to my friends getting married I had no idea about cuts or sizes… really I still don’t absolutely get it. But nevertheless…. I did see some things I liked. (Remember my post about the family cruise? Well in the Caribbean, they like to try and sell to travelers… so it is all good to have a look see right?) I have always imagined that my husband to be would do recon and a friend or relative would step in and help.

Alright so the last bit is going to be about the music…. DJ or band? Totally a DJ. But I think helping the friend that is getting married in a few weeks choose her first song got me to thinking…. “What would I walk down the aisle to?” Does Leah hate EVERYTHING I chose? Sure but it is what it is. I think I have the list narrowed down though

• That Girl – Justin Timberlake
• Murder – Justin Timberlake ft Jay Z
• As – Marsha Ambrosius and Anthony Hamilton
• I Knew I Loved You – Savage Garden
• (God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time On You – *NSYNC
• Happily Ever After – Case
• There Goes My Baby – Usher

The future husband better be okay with my love of JT and *NSYNC

Although, I have a different list for the first dance songs. And no there will be no choreographed dances. I haven’t danced to a music video since the late 90’s.

I haven’t really haven’t given any thoughts to the father daughter dance song. I know my sister will have lots suggestions. She keeps me up to date on music otherwise I would not know.

And that leaves the food. Leah is all for a brunch weddings… she has made her views on the matter quite clear. I am not for something at night either. I have a lot of older family members that won’t want to party int the evening. I like amount of sleep my damn self so there is that. I have nothing against brunch but don’t like eggs all that much. The food I haven’t really thought about much besides it being a buffet style. So I have a few ideas as to what to put together.

• Tacos/Fajita bar (Rice and beans)
• Chicken Alfredo/Shrimp Alfredo
• Sushi Bar
• Burger Building Bar
• Pizza Bar

So this is what I have so far. I am definitely going to have a wedding coordinator and use that wedding website Zola. I have a friend that does wedding photo shoots. Really great blog. Check her out here https://vncphotography.com/2020/07/21/photo-tip-tuesday-best-point-and-shoot-cameras-for-travel/?fbclid=IwAR0EWFqteQ8v8kWicByOelCqDxc_-sMW1KBNegLtDipO0aeuojJN6jGhqlU

In the meanwhile…. I am done for now.