For the Love of S'mores

I know I have neglected our blog over the last couple months but the truth is - there wasn't much to update until recently. I've checked some major things off the list this month: 1. Booked an awesome, I mean awesome band, 2. We took our engagement pictures (more to come on that) and last but definitely not least...3. I asked eight very special girls to stand next to me on our big day! Seeing as we have such a long engagement I was able to take my time deciding how I would ask each of them. I knew I wanted something to represent a part of our wedding day. From the get-go I've had several "musts" for the wedding, every girl does right? On that list is a s'mores bar with fire pits outside, I just adore the idea. So I shared my thoughts with two extremely creative people I work with to help me design a s'mores kit for each of these ladies. Below is what the three of us came up with!

Poem compliments of the lovely Melissa Campbell and the extremely
creative Adrienne Adair designed the card and monogram

The "campfire"

I can't even count on all my fingers and toes the number of
s'mores I ate during this process

The box that went to my sister and matron of honor

Bailey sent me this picture text when she opened her box.
Needless to say she accepts the MOH duties :)

The reactions from the rest of the ladies were just as precious. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful group of girls in my life and have them a part of our wedding!

Allyson, my amazing sister and Matron of Honor
Bailey, college best friend, "twink" and Maid of Honor
Joy, one of my best friends from high school
Sarah, my roommate senior year and one of my best friends
Katelyn, roommate at the sorority house and who I always go to for a good laugh
Melanie, one of my best friends from high school and favorite travel buddies
Chace, one of my very close friends here in Houston
Jennifer, Trent's sister and good friend

Rustic Wedding Inspiration

I love Style Me Pretty, and by love I mean border-line obsessed. They showcase the most beautiful and unique weddings. This Santa Barbara wedding published last week definitely makes it in my top five all-time favorite weddings. The ceremony was in a church but the best part - the reception was in a barn! But think, elegant barn filled with strung lights and chandeliers not animal and hay filled barn. I love the colors used here and we're planning on using something similar in our wedding to create this lovely, whimsical look. Enjoy!

Style Me Pretty - Santa Barbara Wedding

Cupcakes, Soirees and Dress Shopping, oh my!

We may have only been engaged a little over a month, but I definitely tried to take advantage of all the fun wedding events in Houston. Suze and I went to the Bridal Extravaganza at the beginning of the month which was overwhelming to say the least! I've never seen go many bedazzled shirts, strollers and brides in my life. Most vendors were there to provide the generic, cookie cutter wedding which there is nothing wrong with - it's just not for Trent and I. We did come away with a few good ideas! 

The next bridal event I went to was Cupcakes and Cocktails at Bella Bridesmaids with my friend Chace. I was a fun little Friday night event showcasing what they have in their precious little store!

 

This past Saturday Suze, Bails and I went wedding dress shopping. Our first stop was Ivory Bridal Atelier and I felt like a little girl playing dress-up until the stylist put the veil on. At that moment the tears started flowing!! I fell in love with the first dress I tried on which is very unlike me but it's exactly was I imagined walking down the aisle in. Now the real work begins -- keeping Trent's eyes from peeping at a picture of it for the next 15 months!

Suze and I went to the I Do! Bridal Soiree at the Houstonian Hotel on Sunday. The entire hotel was filled with 80 of Houston's top wedding vendors. We tried A LOT of cake, sipped champagne, met a couple of great photographers and watched a fabulous fashion show. It was so much fun! They had a tasting room full of stations including a slider station with burgers and fried chicken on a mini biscuit and honey - yum! There was a unique dessert bar with macaroons, cake pops and truffles. It was ideal for an upscale event. However, I think a s'mores bar is more fitting for our wedding :) The bridal bouquet on the bottom left not only looked beautiful but smelled beautiful. I love, love, love peonies! Add in some faint peach and green and I think we'd have a winner. All in all, it was a ton of fun and we came away with some fantastic ideas and contacts.

Rustic Elegance

After we got engaged and started talking about our wedding, Trent and I decided a couple things: 1. We wanted our wedding reflect our personalities and 2. We didn't want to have our reception in a ballroom. As much as we both love to be outside, we came up with 'rustic elegance' as the theme for our wedding.

The tasks at the top of our to-do list were to set the date and find our venue. First up, the date. We decided on April 14, 2012 - why such a long engagement? Well, between football games and hunting season, a fall wedding is a no go, and any Saturday in spring before the SHO and the Master's is off limits. Plus, we will have enough time to plan the wedding of our dreams as stress free as possible!


Next on the list, picking the venue. This was much easier than we had imagined it would be in a city filled with hotels and venues with the "ballroom" feel. After lots of research we decided to go visit several places with the unique style we wanted. We fell in love with the second one we visited, the Houstonian Golf and Country Club in Richmond, Tx. It is the definition of rustic elegance or as Trent would say, it looks like a fancy hunting lodge. And that's probably why he liked it so much. We think it's the perfect place to celebrate our marriage with family and friends!

The Future Mr. and Mrs. Staggers!

Sunday, December 19th - what a day, what a day! It was by far the most amazingly pulled off surprise I've ever been a part of. Everything from hiring a sport photographer because of the zoom lens to offering to buy me a new golf skirt the day before and inviting our friends and family to celebrate after. Well done finacé, well done.

What's in there??

I didn't know what to do with myself

So I went for his face

Finally got the glove off my hand

 

We're getting married!!