Falling in Love - Dressing for FALL Weddings

                                         Graphic Design cred to Lauren Verplaetse. Check her out at laurenverplaetse.com :)

This is such an exciting point in my life. I am finally old enough that the word "wedding" is now frequently used in my vocabulary. Not only am I going to weddings, but they are my best friends who are MY age! Weddings are no longer a time in the far future but a present time. 

Because of my little wedding experience, I have only experienced summer weddings. This year, I had the joy of attending my beautiful cousin's fall wedding. I was so excited to see her and her wonderful fiance since I grew up alongside her & I look up to her so much.

Although in the back of my mind, I have always thought... What am I going to wear?! So I did some brainstroming and this is what I came up with. I hope you enjoy and find that this is something you can use this fall.

When picking out a dress, color is the biggest thing. For me, I wanted a color that would match all the deep rich colors of fall that would be displayed at the wedding. I found this dress at my favorite store, Francescas Collections. I loved the rich emerald green color with the knitted texture. This dress was a perfect fit because its something I can easily dress up or down. Its something I can wear and teach in comfortably!

I decided to dress appropriately for the weather and wore black tights to keep my legs warm. I then dressed up my look by adding clear/gold jewelry& my black Michael Kors heels. I also got to use my new favorite bag from target that I also doubled as a camera bag that day!

When thinking about buying a dress for a fall wedding, get something that you can wear again. Depending on how casual or formal the wedding is, you may be able to get away with using the dress to create many different styles! 

Look for COLOR. Jewel tones look are great for fall because they compliment so many of the colors of the season. Make a statement with a green, purple, or red dress that will make you dance the night away in confidence. And as always, get a dress you feel great in! 

Model cred to my little brother: Aaron Bruck

Jazz up your look by having fun with sweaters, jackets, and coats that can add layers of warmth and beauty to the look! REMEMBER: Fall is ALL about layers. This counts for weddings too!

Thanks for reading and we'll talk soon! 

Count Your Blessings

Count Your Blessings

Well hello everyone! Here I am finally writing my first blog post. It seems that I should write about my interests and all about myself so that you can get to know me. But honestly, I have much more on my mind these days and something else seems like it holds more importance.

Small information about myself: I have been blessed to have met the love of my life my sophomore in college. My boyfriend, Tony, has been in my life for almost three years now and we just got our first place here in Iowa a few months ago. Dating him and moving onto the next step in our lives has already brought us on so many fantastic journeys. 

I can't wait to tell you all about how wonderful my family, friends, and boyfriend are but first things are about to get deep.

Tony has an uncle that was diagnosed with cancer less than a year ago. The cancer has spread to almost every part of his body and this healthy, crude, and loved man is now silent, unable to move, and nearing the end of his life. Last thursday, we were told that his engaged daughter had decided to have her wedding...in TWO days. For most people, this would be impossible. But in this family, this meant that everyone was to work together to put on a wedding that focused on the two most important things in life.

Love and family.

Now this is where I get all mushy gushy...

After 36 hours of planning and decorating, they decided to have the wedding in her brother's warehouse on the farm. Her uncle, (who had forgotten about his ability) officiated the wedding and her good friend was the DJ. 

Hours and hours went by as family members picked up food, hung lights, laid out burlap, and set tables for a night full of honesty and reflection.

The sight of the beautiful bride being accompanied down the isle by her brother and wheelchair-bound dad left every eye bubbled with tears. The night was simple but beautiful and touched on every important aspect of marriage and family.

In addition to every mother, father, grandparent, sister, and child, I found myself reflecting about my own time on this earth and the beautiful people who surround me during it. I found myself laughing at Pinterest wedding boards (yes, I do have one- its so large I'm embarrassed now) and 2 year engagements to plan a wedding. I came to the conclusion that I want a small wedding in which the focus is love and appreciation of the wonderful time we are allotted on this earth. Until this last weekend, I dreamed of big and showy moments in my wedding that would "show" how much we were in love. It was not until this last weekend that I understood I had the entire idea backwards. 

Love is a journey that we experience with many people along our path of life.

There should never be a day without "I love you" and "Thank You" to the people around you because life is too short. Its a shame we get such a short amount of time with such wonderful things and people and it is pertinent that we make our mark on this earth through gentle love and affection.