Today is my Wedding!

Hello Everyone! Today is my Wedding Day!
At 4pm Central Time; I will be walking barefoot in the sand with my Dad at Navarre Beach, Florida to marry my best friend, my rock, the father of my darling daughter, and the one person who has seen me at my best and worst but still loves me.

The island that I'm getting married on is the same island I was proposed to. It's where Bryce and I went on dates. It's where I decided I was moving away from North Carolina to settle at. It's where we announced to my parents Bryce and I were expecting a baby. The white sand on this beach and the emerald waters isn't just a beautiful backdrop for my Wedding, it's the location that so many great memories were made. And many more to come.

I've been asked why did I wait to get married after Hollys birth. I waited because I wanted to feel 100% at my best. I didn't want to feel tired from pregnancy pains or feel uncomfortable about my weight + sore feet. I wanted to be able to celebrate with family and have a true Champagne toast as the sun sets (And eat foods that wouldn't make me feel sick afterwards)! I wanted the photographs taken to reflect Bryce and I in pure confidence. I knew if I was pregnant during my wedding I wouldn't feel confident or truly appreciate all the beautiful images the photographer captures. To some that might be silly but for me it's not. Yes, Holly was born before a marriage license. Yes planning a wedding while raising a infant is a challenge. But that's okay. I rather it be that way than not at all.

I hope everyone has a beautiful Saturday. I hope today everyone finds a reason to smile. I want today to not just be my happiest day but also for whoever is reading this to have a happy day as well.

Thanks again for everyones love and support.
I plan to post a blog of my wedding and as always follow the instagram for photos in the moment.
If you want to help make our wedding magical; donate to wedding registry! Our Honeymoon Fund! Our wedding costs has left us without a beautiful Honeymoon.
 - Pomp and Palms

7 Tips for Wedding Set Up Prep!

I wanted to touch base about some tips for wedding set up prep! This might be an easy topic but I witnessed first hand from my sisters wedding what could happen if you don't have a system planned for wedding set up. Not bashing her wedding, because it turned out beautiful... But she had many opportunities to delegate tasks and many projects was waited until the last minute (which meant MAJOR STRESS!)
If you’re planning a wedding without a wedding planner, please look at these 7 simple tips and try to utilize opportunities to make your wedding hassle free!

Tip One: If you have access to the Venue 24 hours BEFORE the wedding, take advantage of it.
A lot of venues like victorian houses, barns, churches, and some pavilions grant you access 24 hours before the wedding in your contract agreement. Take that day before to decorate! You might not be able to line up the ceremony chairs in the Courtyard but you'll be able to roll out the table cloths and have them steamed or even set up the entry area/gift table beforehand.

Tip Two: Rehearsal dinner is a good time to prep.
If having the rehearsal dinner at the venue take that chance to set up small things. For example: the venue my sister rented we had the rehearsal dinner there. It was the perfect opportunity to get some decorations in place especially with groomsmen around that can move tables. If planned properly she could’ve had the entire indoor area set up the night before!

Tip Three: Box and Label properly.
Items that go on the sign in table, flowers + candles that go on the fireplace mantel, decor for each of the dinning tables, and photographs that are to be placed in the foyer - have the boxes of items stored in labeled and easy to set up.

Tip Four: Map it out.
I literally hand drew my pavilion and the set up I wanted. Then I'm able to hand it to the 'set up team' and know they'll be able to place things with ease!

Tip Five: Do a mock set up and take pictures or draw it out!
Just like having mock hair and makeup pictures for the big day, do this for the table center pieces and how you hope the Sign In area to be. You can set it up in your house and send the pictures to the 'set up team' along with a drawn layout to give ideas.

Tip Six: Delegate Tasks in an appropriate manner.
When assigning who is to set up what make sure it's an area you've went over thoroughly with him/her and a area that person can handle (so don't give your pregnant bridesmaid the job of hanging lanterns in a tree). If you assign the tasks off to members who can handle it, you'll be happy with the outcome. Also assign tasks at appropriate times. Don’t expect your bridal party to be setting up the reception hall when they should be getting dressed.

Tip Seven: Don't do it yourself.
Many brides have the “It'll only look good if I do it” mind set (cough cough, my sister). Though that might be true, it's your wedding day and you need to be relaxing and getting beautiful with your mother and bridal squad! Put trust in other family and friends; if something isn't 100% perfect it's okay! Life isn't perfect.

What am I doing? In the beginning I planned to have a few friends of Bryce’s family set up the wedding reception with my mom and Bryces aunt. I hand drawn the pavilion layout, snapped photos of mock table arrangements, and purchased crates labeled where the items go with the EXACT number of items needed for that location. I found out yesterday (September 13th) that a relative has paid a decorator to do the entire set up and to direct guests where to go and monitor non-guests from tampering the decor. I’m extremely grateful for this generous gift of having someone create my vision for me so my family can enjoy the day. 

What NOT to Buy at Forever 21

Last Saturday I made a post about What to Buy from Forever 21 (Click here to see that post!!!). Today's post will be the opposite; what not to buy from Forever 21. These are the items I regret purchasing or had negative results from.

1. Jewelry
Forever 21 has some adorable Jewelry designs. The issue is the jewels are good for 1-3 wears. I highly recommend NOT getting the jewelry wet! I've had rings turn my fingers green after one night of wearing, and I've had earring + necklaces tarnish after 2 wears.

2. Cosmetics (Mascara, Lipstick, Nail Polish, Etc)
The F21 brand of beauty goods isn't the best. They do sell ELF products but the ELF cosmetics are cheaper at Walmart or Target verses the price at F21. I recommend investing in CoverGirl before F21 Beauty.

3. Swimwear
Swim is a hit/miss. I've had some good swim purchases but I've had some bad. I suggest trying on first (swim is non-refundable).

4. Anything with beads or rhinestones
A sparkly dress is cute but the quality isn't. I've had so many issues with anything from Forever 21 that has stones, jewels, buttons, etc. I try to avoid them at all cost.

5. Undergarments
The Undergarments are not Victoria's Secret or Target quality. I overall avoid and just invest in the higher price items.

6. Cheap Fashion Shoes
Just like the Jewelry, Forever21 comes up with some adorable shoe styles. But I've had MANY fails. A pair of look-a-like Steve Madden sandals turned out dyeing my feet black. And the strappy wedges ended up coming apart after 2 wears.

7. Denim
The Denim is a hit/miss. I've had issues with their black denim from the dye smell being too strong and rubbing dye into my leather seats. But I've had some success in their denim boyfriend fit shorts! I recommend trying on before purchasing.

8. Any Clothing that is a "Fab" trend or Quickie Trend
These are the items that are only popular in the moment and after a month or two it'll be 'old news'. These items the company mass produced as quickly as possible just to make a quick buck but didn't take the time to test quality standards. Anything that you see a A-list celebrity rock one minute but never again, this a quickie trend. Example:

I hope this list of "duds" helps with your next Forever 21 shopping experience!
- Pomp and Palms

Wedding Photos

Wedding photos are super important. The photographs collected will be a key item to reflect on from that beautiful day. These photos you'll show your daughter when she's a little girl and she will admire how beautiful her mother looked in a white gown. Not to mention, photographers are super costly. So like many brides, you want to get the photos right.

Question: How should you shop for a photographer?
Finding a photographer isn't a walk in the park. You need to view the photographer just like the venue or baker. You need to see their work, hear what their strengths + weaknesses are (Everyone has a weakness and if someone says they don't, you MUST walk away), you need to communicate with the photographer and see if she/he is someone who understands your vision but also a person you're comfortable talking to, and of course the price needs to be within your budget.

In my opinion, the photographer should get to know you and your family. After shooting your wedding it shouldn't be just a person but more like a friend. If the photographer just views you as a paycheck or a job, it's not going to be a good match. There's no bond. The photographer needs to truly care for the client and strive to capture the most beautiful moments from this important day.

What did I do? When deciding on my photographer I didn't care if the photographs were 5 star quality.... YOU HEARD IT HERE, I'm okay with some flaws. I wanted the trust and support to be 5 star. 
I had quite a few options. All were very costly and some did chip the price. The person I selected was one who didn't just know Bryce's family but she lived in the same neighborhood. She watched Bryce grow up and she was honored to be asked if she can help with the wedding. She does photography on the side and admits to a weakness; she hasn't done wedding photos in awhile. But she offered many perks that no one else did: to take family photos a few weeks before for free so we can get to know her, to do the ceremony and reception + if we want to have more photos done another day she'll gladly do them, and to take us to other parts of the island for different style photos. Lastly, she loves Holly and wants to spend time with her.

This one I love. It's actually from this part of Florida so I have a good idea on how the water and sand will look. I hope Anita can get a photo like this with the sun setting.

This is another photo I really like. I want to get photos of us in the water SUPER bad. Of course, these are hard to do because the dress is getting wet. We might take these on a separate day.

Question: Should you give the Photographer pictures you want to recreate? 
Yes and No.
I told Anita (my photographer) I have photos from Pinterest to show her and maybe she can recreate them or something similar. She told me that's ONE THING a photographer should be honest with: recreating an exact photo you find on Pinterest is about impossible (photoshop, the time of day and location, the style of camera, presets, etc are all factors). I appreciated she told me the photos I collected might not 100% look the same as mine but she said she will do some of her creative work to make something beautiful.
She DID suggest for me to write down any photo line ups I want.
For Example: Who did I want included in family photos? Do I want to have photos with only parents or photos with siblings partners? Did I want Holly in all my photos or would I prefer to keep her out of some? Would I want photos of random guests?
She also suggested that I look at her usual schedule for Wedding Day photos and see if I want to omit any of it (I’m not having a bridal party so I don’t need 45 minutes invest in photos of bridesmaids getting ready and I’m getting ready at Bryce’s Sisters salon; might want to omit hair and makeup prep photos).

I hope this gave some good information on Photographer shopping and Wedding photos. The images shown I found on Pinterest and are the ones I plan to show my Photographer to see if we can do something similar.
- Pomp and Palms