Soooo… I’ve been waiting to share something. Patiently waiting, until recently. I needed to wait until I felt secure and ready to move forward… and well, ready to plan. Well, here I am… not only ready, but actually excited! Alex and I are getting married. *smile* When Alex started trying to make his way back into my life I pretty much laughed it off and thought, “Well, here we go again”. It turns out: he was serious and I was wrong. He was ready and wanting to be a family and he was going to make sure I knew it. During his visits to see Marlowe: he brought little gifts, like: my favorite coffee, records, or flowers, much like he had in the past (these things didn’t phase me too much). Then he returned to New York and the songs started coming in again. An email or a text on his commute to work everyday with an “I love you” and a song. He was texting everyday. Everyday, telling me: he wanted to be with me, he loved me, and he was going to show me that he wanted to be with me forever. “Okay Alex, I’ve told you, words don’t matter… show me”.
I received a phone call one afternoon from Alex telling me there should be an email waiting for me. That day had already been incredibly strange (maybe we can talk about that some other time) and I really didn’t know what to expect. I went inside, opened up my computer, and found a very long email addressed to my closest family members. He apologized to them for all his wrong doings. He was sorry for hurting them, for hurting me, and for not being there for Marlowe or I. He asked for their forgiveness, he told them he was going to make everything right, and he was willing to fight through anything to be with me again. I sat there in shock— he wasn’t normally the type to make such bold moves, but the email was right there in front of me. He was determined to make sure I knew how serious and sincere he was.
A few days later I was off to Massachusetts. He said he would like to see me and wanted to try to come and visit. I said “Okay Alex, whatever you want to do” came out of my mouth while my mind said: “The email was nice, and as much as I would like him to show up, he won’t”. Like I mentioned before, he did show up… and he surprised me. What I didn’t mention… was that I later found out he had been emailing my mom back and forth, trying to plan a way to surprise me…. to propose. His plan was for me to be waiting, flustered, at the train station, and for him to get off the train and propose right there… well that didn’t happen, but this was my own (unknowing) fault. After his surprise arrival we spent the afternoon with Marlowe and my family before heading out on a drive together. He didn’t really have anything in particular planned, but he knew he was going to find somewhere beautiful. Well, he did: a blueberry farm, it was beautiful and it was perfect for us. (We have a long tradition of visiting farms and fruit picking) We were the only ones in the field, with the mountains behind us, and he told me he wanted to be with me and he wanted to marry me.
I wish I could say: I loudly proclaimed “YES!” right away, but honestly, I didn’t. He had taken so many steps to show me he wanted to be with me, but I told him I needed more— I needed time, but if things kept going the way they were going… well… of course I would love to marry him.
Here we are, a few months later, and we’ve been steadily working on and progressing in our relationship. I am now ready to move forward and plan our wedding. As a girl, who never dreamed of a long white dress or my wedding, I’ve been a bit hesitant on planning, but Alex has been persistent. So here we are and more importantly, here I am: actually planning a wedding. Now that a location and date has been decided on, I can say: I am beyond excited for all this to happen. So excited that I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer! I look forward to our wedding day, and even more so to our marriage.
Also, I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer because… I would like (need) some wedding help. I know nothing about weddings or wedding planning. We have a location picked, a few set details, and on occasion I peek at Once Wed, but other than that I’m at a bit lost in the wedding world. Can you ladies maybe help me out? I’d love if you could email me (or comment) with anything wedding related. Anything from: favorite wedding shops, dresses, shoes, accessories, invitations, decorations, photographers, wine, rings, anything! It would be beyond appreciated!
By the way, it’s been decided… we’re having our wedding in April 🙂
Have a love filled weekend, everyone!
edit: thank you for all your congratulations! my phone is exploding with love (mostly via twitter)! I’ve had a few tweets and other things mentioning pinterest…. for different reasons. Yes, I have a pinterest…. I just recently got it (specifically for this)… if you follow it already…. then yeah, I’m pretty obvious… you already knew I was planning a wedding… but if not, then feel free to follow along with some of the things I have found and love 😉
69 Comments
Aww that is so cute!! I am so happy he finally realized everything and your all going to be a family! 🙂
My wedding advice is: DO IT YOUR WAY!!! I had so many people in my ear and telling me what THEY wanted. But in the end I had it 50% my way but next time it will be everything my husband and I want!
Good luck and I know you will have a great down to earth wedding!
Congratulations!
check out:
100 layer cake
snippet and ink
greenwedding shoes
southern wedding
style me pretty
wedding bee.
I love wedding websites 🙂
Good luck!
Congratulations! :):) I am so happy for you and thrilled for little M. (and btw I love that you took a few days to wait until you were completely ready and trusting). I am so happy Marlowe will grow up with her mom + dad and that you guys are a real FAMILY now!! 🙂 I got married when my LO was 6 mo. old and we pulled off our wedding in under 3 months so YOU CAN DO IT and I know it's going to be absolutely spectacular!! I can't wait to see all the planning posts! (-Please share!)
Much love, Lisa
http://www.mummascorner.blogspot.com
Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!
I got married this past summer and had a year and a half to plan it. My sister is a wedding planning extraordinaire and was super helpful. We knew we didn't want some big expensive wedding, but ended up with a small expensive wedding. We were truly shocked at how expensive things were and really believed we could do it cheap (until we really got into planning).
My advise? Create an image in your head of what you want. Then write it down. Then stick with it.
Most of our flowers came from the farmer's market (we pre-ordered them) & I HIGHLY recommend this, because you're buying local, supporting locals, you're getting (most likely) local flowers that (are hopefully) free of excessive pesticides. I did have two very creative women who helped to trim & set up the flowers. It took them several hours. So if you're doing this- be sure to allow enough time! 🙂 We used mason jars as vases.
Our boutineers and bouquets came from http://handmadepaperflowers.com/ They were not cheap, but they were worth it. They were beautiful and whoever gets them can keep them forever. I carried a large sunflower as my bouquet and it sits in our living room where we see it every day.
I would make a few appointments at dress shops to try on different styles of wedding dresses. Once you know what you like, shop the used dress sites online (such as http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com or http://www.recycledbride.com). You may be able to find your dress for much cheaper than if you bought it new.
Hirer a recommended photographer. Ask for references. Set a meeting. If he/she is late and lame (like ours was) this is a sign to cancel and find a new one (We didn't, but should have. Lots of issues the day of…).
Remember that rain on your wedding day is good luck.
Forget what everyone else says and remember that this day is for you & Alex & Marlowe. Pick the songs you like. Include religion in your ceremony if you want to (and exclude it if you want to). Choose the rings you want to (try etsy!).
Happy planning!
Congrats! I can't wait for that future post! ha!
I got married on April 28th. Next year will be 5 years for us. We paid for most of it ourselves with a little help here and there. It was very budget, so a lot of DIY.
There are sooo many sources out there that I don't think you'll have any issues finding and creating things you love. We did do our own invitations. We used our home printer and printed the details on vellum paper and then attached it to pressed floral paper with a hole punch and ribbon. They were so simple and beautiful (to me)! Also, cheap!!
Good luck to you!
Congratulations!!! You will be a beautiful bride, can't wait to hear about more details!
congrats!! the best advice I have is to make whatever you can. I made our save the dates, programs, and center pieces. this saved us a ton of money! also, make sure you get exactly what you want for your wedding day. for example, i wanted to be barefoot along with all my bridesmaids and my MIL tried to talk me out of it. heck no! we were barefoot and I'm so glad I didn't let someone talk me out of it! have fun!
you should check out A Practical Wedding, seriously saved me from some meltdowns when I was wedding planning.
I bought and wore a little girls veil (holy Communion veil lol) because I am so small…haha. It was really long on me, too!
We had 2 weeks to throw together a little wedding…which actually turned out to be huge. 6 months to me is like forever LOL.
We didn't have a vegan wedding cake because the bakery that made them wanted to charge a small fortune. My friend tried to make us one as a surprise but it didn't turn out right so we had to pretend to be feeding each other cake we couldn't have in our photos…haha.
It's amazing how everything just came together for us. My in-laws, my own parents and friends were amazing at helping us out but my only regret is deciding to have it so soon as it meant a lot of out-of-town people couldn't make it, but my whole family (asides my brother who lives in the US) were there so I can't complain.
It was amazingly stressful but it was worth it. We had a family friend do photos because I'd seen the pics he did for my brothers wedding and I'd always known I'd wanted him for my photographer. Things like the dress just appeared out of nowhere but it was a dress I'd always dreamed of having, it was so weird. We don't drink so we had various different mock alcoholic drinks and from what my sister tells me guests went away and got tanked later on ;).
Congrats, you'll have a lot of fun ahead of you 🙂
Yay! April is such a lovely time to get married! We got married April 10, almost two years ago! 🙂 The awesome thing about the date you picked is that everything will be cheaper, being in the off-season.
I have a suggestion about the flowers since we did this — talk to your local florists about where they get their flowers from or Google it. There is usually a wholesale shop somewhere around and you can save BIG by going there and buying your own things and making everything yourself. Also, I don't know if they have Costcos near you but Costco is an excellent place to get roses. But you don't strike me as the rose type of girl. 🙂 I wanted peonies but they are SPENDY in April so I got ranunculas for my bouquet which are French peonies. (A good option if you wanted peonies too!)
Also, I got my wedding dress way ahead of time. David's Bridal has $99 sales every so often and I just so happened to come across the perfect vintagesque, one-shouldered silk dress with a minimal train and beautiful brooches instead of sequins etc. I know you can find David's Bridal online if you can't find a store near you.
Also, bridesmaid dresses can be SO spendy and not useable more than once. I only had five months to plan to (less actually because he proposed in December and we got married the following April) and I just searched around forever. We finally found simple purple silk sheathes at Dress Barn for $40 each! The girls all looked amazing and every single girl has worn hers since for other occasions. 🙂
Weddings are SO fun but so tiring. Just remember on the reason you are doing it and let everything fall into place. Also, ASK FOR HELP! Don't soldier it alone. Have Alex help with invites, etc. My hubby cut out all the pieces of our invites and helped put them together. Such a big help and a good way for him to get involved.
Whoa. End of book. 🙂
Rad! Congrats to your whole family!
Tips…
no red drinks – so many people spilled champagne on me in my wedding gown while we are all dancing/hugging.
don't do guest list til the last possible moments. It's crazy how fast things change and how people come and go.
etsy all the way! I got my garter belt, cake toppers, invites, veil and more from there!
try to take it all in and just enjoy being a bride for the next few months 🙂
xo-
stacey
hanguptheheels.com
congratulations!!! I'm so happy and excited for you guys!! I have a couple favorites on pinterest, i'll follow u and link up! XOXO!!
Awww CONGRATULATIONS you guys look so good together 😀
x x
Ah! How exciting!!! Congratulations 🙂 I've been keeping a Pinterest board for my sister's weddings – take a peak if you are still looking for ideas – http://pinterest.com/thatmamag/sista-s-weddings/
That's so awesome! I'm glad everything is working out for you guys! Congrats, I can't wait to see pictures of your wedding, I know it'll be beautiful.
I am so happy for you two! I've been reading your blog for awhile, and I am so glad everything worked out and you three can be a family. Good luck with the wedding planning!
Congratulations on the wonderful news…
Don't get stressed over the planning. Enjoy it.
Etsy is a great way to get some ideas or DIY ideas, and check out photographybyverdi
Love following your blog and seeing how your life is changing… Congratulations on the exciting news…
Check out photographybyverdi
I also love etsy for some great wedding ideas!
Wow Congratulations! I can't believe how your story has unfolded over the year. Much blessings. xoxo
For wedding related stuff I love vintageglamwedding and idiy for inspiration. xoxo
bhldn.com it's Anthropologie's wedding line…super cute and funky!
I'm so happy and excited for you!!!
Oh wow! Congrats times a thousand. You deserve all the happiness that you are feeling! Yay!
congrats drea!!!
How amazing, mature and wonderful ya'lls story is. How great!
If you are into local jewelry…(rings)…but it's massachusetts – I know a couple people who are amazing and really easy to work with. Carla Caruso, Ananda Khalsa, and Rebekkah Brooks. My rings are coming from Rebekkah Brooks – they are flexy on budget and really really nice. I know ananda personally! They are funky and different thought you'd like them!
http://www.carlacarusojewelry.com/womens_bands
http://www.rebekahbrooks.com/ – website not the best, but if you have a vintage vision she can work with you!
http://www.anandakhalsa.com/gallery/index.php – I don't believe her wedding stuff is on her site yet, but if you like her style you can ask to see some! Also might be on facebook too.
Happy day! happy life! Happy family!
I'm a huge lurker on your blog, but I love reading your story, and I am so excited about this new chapter in your life! I also recently got married, and I found that the most helpful online wedding resource was Weddingbee. If you haven't checked it out yet, I encourage you to do so! The blogs are filled with inspiration women also planning weddings (including a few in Florida!), and the boards are a great place to ask questions, get advice, and engage with other brides-to-be. I hope this helps! And congrats to your family!
wow this is amazing!! girl, i did our wedding for $4k and it was featured on oncewed. I would love to help you out – as I loveeee weddings and doing it yourself.
such a special time for you guys! and april is a PERFECT month for a wedding.
http://www.oncewed.com/29730/wedding-blog/real-weddings/a-vintage-nashville-wedding/
http://www.misschelseymeyer.blogspot.com
Oh my godddd!!! Congrats Drea!!! I think I will email you with some stuff…being that I just got married a few months ago and we were on a budget, I have a few pointers!!
Splurge on a live band.
Send invitations on old post cards.
get a really good photographer.
No tuxedos, suits are cuter.
make your own bouquet and boutineers.
just a few suggestions…
congratulations! i've been a long-time reader (who once in a while delurks to comment), and i hope you two have a wonderful married life together! that being said, my advice on weddings would be to really know exactly what it is you don't want to skimp money on. whether it's food, or photographers, or details, make sure you budget in your important details first, and then let the rest come. and don't feel pressured by what you see on wedding blogs or on pinterest – your wedding will be perfect if you're happy with everything you buy. and lastly, don't try to do everything yourself. don't stress if the little things don't work out. and remember the wedding is just the fanfare entrance into a new life, so focus on being happy with that. congrats again! 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS! So exciting. And little Marlowe will make a fabulous flower girl, I'm sure. YAY!
Congratulations! Weddings are the most fun to plan and being married is even better. 🙂
Comfy shoes
Good food
Good WHITE wine (spills are less catastrophic that way)
And no matter what, be true to your own style and self. In the end, the only regrets you will have will be doing something out of your own range of fashion and personal style. 🙂
Enjoy these days of planning. They're fun and they go by too quickly!!
A cheap wedding is totally doable! My husband and I got married two years ago and our wedding was under $2,500 total and was still everything we wanted it to be. For rings you guys should totally go rose gold!! I'm so jealous of people with rose gold rings! (especially if paired with a pale blue stone like aquamarine, I have LONG time been drooling over this ring: http://www.etsy.com/listing/61176901/aquamarine-cushion-gemstone-ocean-blue?ga_search_query=aquamarine&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5263754)
And I have also long time been drooling over this dress, it could be strapless and at any length you want:http://www.etsy.com/listing/43394578/vintage-lace-party-dress
but alas I'm already married. . . haha
Congrats you two!
just tweeted you a blog I love (a practical wedding) – once wed & 100 layer cake are also really lovely for aesthetic design. A Practical Wedding is amazing because they focus on the LOVE, and not feeling like you have to "buy all the things" for your wedding. Your wedding is about YOU and YOUR PERSON and your love, and spending it with the people you love the most!
I'm getting married in June, and just finished my apps to midwifery school so I can finally focus more on wedding land.
the most wonderful thing I've experienced so far is my friends and family coming out of the woodwork with all of their special talents. my childhood friend sent me an email saying "hey, I make bridal veils! let me make you an awesome simple birdcage veil" and my other friend has an awesome Motown record collection and asked if she could DJ as her wedding gift! we're getting married on the porch at this Victorian house in Amherst (MA), and having the reception in a tent on the lawn.
are you thinking MA or FL for your wedding? *eeee*!!!
Congratulations! That is so very exciting! <3
Have you checked out http://offbeatbride.com/?
eeeep! thank you so much guys! <3<3<3
And thank you to everyone who has posted links and things so far! I can't wait for a break or late night to check them all out!
@Kate Giovinco Photography : we are getting married in south south south florida. Think: an hour south of miami. I would love any help on photographers For me that's probably second more important thing on my list…and someone who travels is an option, but our budget is on the smaller side (we're saving to get a house). This will be a "what can we get cheap or free" wedding to some extent 🙂
As far as dresses: new or vintage! Vintage would be amazing, but so far when I type in "vintage" I get mostly "slutty pin-up type" dresses…. I guess I'm more on the simple conservative side for a wedding dress. I love lace, but no frill 🙂
@Jess: yesss. thats my big thing. I'm keeping the wedding small and the expenses low… because well… thats how I want it. If people are looking for some over the top elaborate wedding, they aren't going to find it at Alex's and I's wedding. (Theres nothing wrong with big beautiful weddings, they are amazing, just not my style).
shoes: flats to the max.
@jen e: I say this about once a day! 10 years from now no one will care what kind of wine they drank at our wedding, but I can have tangible items have to have, look to, and pass down 🙂
Secret mission revealed! I'm so happy for you guys, and I can't wait to see the touches you add to your wedding and how your day will unfold. I know it's going to be special and beautiful! 🙂
Congratulations! Very exciting news 🙂 The one piece of wedding advice I have is to think about the things that will matter to you ten years from now in regard to your wedding. What details won't matter in 10 years and what details will. For me, the big detail I dropped the ball on was hiring a photographer. We cheaped out on that and I wish we hadn't.
I KNEW IT! i knew something was brewing. i need to remember to bookmark this post for someday when i am planning my own wedding (not a wedding girl either).
Congratulations!!
My sister planned a wedding in 4 months and it was absolutely amazing. You can do it!! 🙂
Congratulations! I can't offer much help in the wedding department as we did most of it ourselves BUT I do want to recommend Sarah Perlis for rings. Her work is incredibly unique and she uses recycled metals and responsibly mined stones. Plus, she's a blast to work with.
Oh my goodness! Thrilled for you! Sending joy from Missouri 🙂
Drea, i am SO excited for you :)let me think about the wedding ideas/tips. i may have a few.
enjoy your weekend you little love birds.
Congrats, Drea! I am so happy for you! While I don't know you in "real life," I've been following this little corner of yours for a while now and it seems like you've got your head on straight. May your wedding be a beautiful day and your marriage always blessed.
xoxo
congratulations!!! 🙂
congratulations to the both of you. and Marlowe too!
now i know why you asked me for Miami photographers. i will keep my eyes and ears open.
stars, moons and rainbows for you my friend!
i think your blog should now be called yaydeardrea. 😉
This made me cry, what wonderful news!!! So happy for you and your family!! The last photo says it all!!
Congratulations. I'm super happy for you, Alex and Marlowe. And I'm glad that you get to have the proper family you've always longed for. I can't wait for the wedding post and, as usual, I'm confident it will be fabulous and full of great photos 🙂
http://beingmama.com/
http://ohsoprettylife.blogspot.com/
Congratulations!!! I'm so so happy for you and Marlowe. I have a feeling your wedding will be absolutely beautiful.
Congratulations!
there's a fantastic wedding blog, called ruffled, that would be just your style i think! x
Congratulations! 🙂
I agree with Jess (mrssometimes).
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I got married over a year ago and definitely recommend doing what you and Alex want to do – don't let anyone else push their ideas on you or feel forced into having something you don't want.
And wear comfy shoes!
Also, it's fine to splurge 😉
Enjoy this planning stage it is sooo much fun.
http://mrssometimes.blogspot.com/
Just wanted to say how HAPPY/EXCITED/THRILLED I am for you, Alex and Marlowe!!! Enjoy EVERY minute of it…I just can't say enough…when it's with the guy who makes everything better…everything wedding related will fall into place!!!:) xoxo
Awe!! I am so happy for you! CONGRATS!!!!
I am so happy for you! And thank you for this post…I am going through a terribly rough time with baby daddy and this gives me hope. I hope my guy wants to be with me as much as yours does 🙂
Congrats I am so very excited for you guys. Are you getting married in Florida or up north? I know some great photographers and could suggest some to you. I myself even travel for weddings.
As far as dresses and such there is so much out there. Are you looking for vintage or new? Good luck with everything. What an exciting time.
wow, congratulations!!
EEEK!! So happy for you 🙂 I'd love to create silhouettes of you and Alex for you/your wedding!! http://outofalabaster.blogspot.com/2011/10/wow-check-my-latest-feature.html
Congrats to your little family!
teared up…CONGRATULATIONS!!! while I haven't been a follower quite as long as most, I'm a huge 'fan' and love to read about a wonderful, growing family. I know a gal (@iheartmysmith) who *just* finished planning her wedding and would love to help…she's also a huge 'fan' and introduced me here…ENJOY the journey!
Congrats!!! I just finished helping plan my best friend's wedding, and am now in full Maid of Honor mode for my cpuson's wedding in February. My best advise would be simply to visit pinterest.com and type in "wedding". You should have the entire thing planned in appx 3 minutes with all the amazing ideas on there! Best of luck – can't wait to follow your new beautiful adventure. : >
I've never commented before but I follow your blog and your awesome Instagram photos and just had to tell you how happy I am for you! Congratulations, and good luck with the wedding planning! I planned my wedding in less than four months and it was beautiful, so I know it can be done! 🙂
Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you and Marlowe!
My future mother-in-law posted a link to this wedding planner and I fell in love with their style.. I'm not sure where they're located, and I don't plan on using a planner, but they have alot of inspiring ideas to copy:
http://www.100layercake.com/
http://www.whatbeesaid.blogspot.com
Oh my gosh Drea!!! I'm SO SO SO excited for you guys!!! But mostly? I'm thrilled for Marlowe. Every child deserves for their parents to be together and in love. So happy!
Congratulations, Drea! You deserve this so much. I wish you and Alex both a lifetime of surprising each other with your love and dedication.
Mazel Tov!
so so so excited for you – i don't know anyone who deserves it more!
i just did my wedding posts over the last few days and i linked all my fav etsy shops and(we got married in august)vendors as well as shared how we tried to stick to a small affordable paid in full budget 😉 hibabyblog.com
greenweddingshoes.com is an AMAZING inspiration site and pinterest will be your nest friend for saving everything you see you like!
Eep!!!! That is so exciting! I really like that you waited until you were really ready… And that shows how dedicated he his to and M. 🙂
Great news! So excited! Sorry, I know nothing about weddings otherwise I'd totally help. 😉
I'll be moral support? xo
I'm so very excited for you! You've been a bit of a role model for me as far as single parenting goes. And I have been in a similar situation with Clara's Dad at the moment. I hope that one day, we can make things work like you and Alex did. I want so badly to be a family, for Clara.
frombean2baby.blogspot.com
I'm so happy for you! it takes courage for him to apologize to you and take that blame, in writing, where all your family could see it. i can't wait to see what you do for your wedding! when i was planning mine i really loved the boards on indiebride.com
http://www.indiebride.com/kvetch/
people there were really nice and i found all kinds of fun resources.
Congratulations to you both, this is such wonderful news and I'm so sure that the two of you will be so happy together!
xoxo much love