Everyone in the blog world is talking Thanksgiving and Christmas and here I am talking spring.  As most of you know, we are planning our dream wedding.  Ok, my dream wedding.  Ryan is a doll who seems to agree with all of my ideas for our wedding.  So at this point, we’ve made a lot of progress including securing a date, venue, photographer, officiant, band and some of the other “big things”!

No I didn’t choose a dress yet.

We’re getting into the nitty gritty details at this point so I thought I’d keep you up to date.  Details, as you know, are my thing.

About 6 weeks ago we had an engagement photo shoot.  We lucked out that crisp fall morning with a wonderful showing of bright autumn colors at Maple Acres Farms.

They were so very accommodating at the farm.  They even let us bring Wilson although he was a bit of a diva (or is that divo?) when it came time for his close up.  I thought you’d like a peek at our photos since there are rarely pictures of us posted.  But let’s start with Wilson since you see him all of the time.

Our e-session photographer, Mandy Keep, captured just how vivid the autumn day was and all of the natural beauty and charm the farm offers.  I particularly like how the photos emphasize the primary and secondary color scheme which is very opposite of how the wedding color scheme will most likely work out.

It was important to me that we look like ourselves and dress like ourselves.  Ryan and I shopped our closets for favorite clothes we already own in complementary colors.  We didn’t do anything over the top to prep for the shoot.  We were just us.  Wilson too.

Now this is where Ryan would probably point out that we don’t normally take a wagon full of vintage props out on a walk with us.  And he’s right.  That’s where I may have gotten carried away but overall I like how the props and colors worked into the farm setting.  Subtle right?

Check us out on the vintage Orrlaskan wool blanket (similar to a Hudson Bay blanket)!

We also had a pair of vintage industrial stools out in the field which is totally natural.  I love how Mandy captured the foliage in this shot.

And who doesn’t love frolicking in the cornstalks?

We’re just about 6 months out from the big day. I am starting to think about our invitations and what they might look like.  As you may have guessed, I would like to hand make them.  I had initially thought we wouldn’t send Save the Dates mostly because it would be too laborious to make them all plus how could I practically make them and add engagement photos?

However, our wedding is essentially a destination for 99% of our guests since we are getting married at the beach which is about 2 hours away for most.  We decided it would be considerate to send Save the Dates after all.  And I’m glad we did once I heard the date morphed from May to March in one line of communication in my family!  Now everyone has plenty of time to  make accommodations.

We partnered with Wedding Paper Divas to create the perfect Save the Date.  After narrowing down several hundred Save the Date choices to about a dozen, we ended up going with Chalk Frame Charm for our layout.  I like how it had the look of an erased chalkboard but also allowed us to incorporate 3 pictures from our shoot.  It definitely foreshadows the fun, casual vibe that we’re creating for our wedding.

We received the Save the Dates in less than a week and sent them right out to our guests.  We actually had the opportunity to speak with a live consultant at Wedding Paper Divas and provide feedback on our proofs so we were sure they were perfect!  I’m glad we ended up doing Save the Dates.  It wasn’t nearly as daunting of a task as I’d initially thought.  Check that off the list!

And the money shot of the day goes to Wilson.  This one is going up on the wall.

There are a few other favorite photos that have a vintage vibe to them.  I am using them on other areas of the blog and for business purposes.  My favorite one is on the ‘About‘ page.

Photos by Mandy Keep Photography