Truth be told, Tyler and I only looked at one venue for our wedding. The house was recommended to us by a friend and the price was perfect for our budget. When we went to check it out, I really believed that this would be just the first of many trips we take venue hunting because there was no way we would find THE PLACE the first time. Right?

I could not have been more wrong. I absolutely fell in love with it. The view was breathtaking and it was everything I had pictured in my head for our day. The house sits on 8 acres of lush green land and has tons of open space for all of our wedding events.

Once we signed the contract, I was overloaded with ideas and so incredibly excited to get the planning started. However, my perfect plan came to a screeching halt when reality hit me that we are having an outdoor wedding. In the summer. In the south.

I’m not sure if any of you have ever been to the south during the summer months, but there are a few things you need to know. 1. Don’t bother curling your hair — it will be flat within two minutes of walking outside. 2. If you have naturally curly hair, be prepared to experience a Monica Geller-esq fro. 3. Always (and I mean always) have bug repellent in your purse.

In my typical irrational, freak-out fashion, I immediately tell Tyler we have to change our venue (the date was a non-negotiable because it has significant meaning — more to come on that later). I rattled off a list of all the things that could go wrong — I mean, come on, what bride wants mosquitoes crashing her wedding? Definitely not this one.

Since there was no way of us getting our $2,500 deposit back, we brainstormed through ideas of what to do and the idea of a tent came back up. We had talked about that early in the wedding planning process because it is always a good idea to have as a back-up plan in case of weather issues during the wedding. I mean, yeah, the practical thing to do would be get a tent. But, being “practical” has never really been my style. And not that I have anything against tents. Some of the most beautiful weddings I have been to have had tents. It just didn’t go with my vision. Plus, those things can get pricy.

So, here we are, six months away and still have yet to decide if we are going to tent-it-up. We did find out that the temps are a bit cooler at the lake (the owner of the venue said it should be in the 70′s that weekend — thank goodness) and they are going to mosquito-bomb the place (there is something I never thought I would write) before the wedding. We’ve found other solutions to combat the humidity and pesky creatures, but we’re still not sold on a tent.

I found some pictures of tents I really liked, but does the openness of them defeat the purpose of even having it? What are your thoughts on tents? I am in desperate need of guidance. In exchange for any tips you can give, I’ll be happy to send you a travel-size OFF from my stockpile. :)

What are your thoughts on tents? I am in desperate need of guidance. In exchange for any tips you can give, I’ll be happy to send you a travel-size OFF from my stockpile. :)

Photo Credits: 1, 2, 3, 4

I love music. I love music so much it gives me chills or brings me to tears or makes me dance like an idiot. It’s because of my love of music that I REALLY want a band at our wedding. One of our first nights together as a newly engaged couple was spent with me playing Kyle song after song after song (over many painstaking hours for him) and planning out our entire wedding playlist.

We love the good old American Crooners like Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and Dean Martin. We also love Ray Charles. All of this music involves several musicians and horns. Beautiful, loud horns. I can’t tell you how many venues we had to pass up because they didn’t allow horns! One of the major reasons we ended up picking the Headlands Center for the Arts as our venue was because they didn’t have any restrictions on the music – a very rare thing around here apparently!

We’ve spent the last few months driving around to hear various bands perform and see if they would be the right fit for our wedding dreams. It’s been tons of fun, but I’ve become a little paranoid that no one will dance, or the singer will be horrible, or the band will be boring. And, above all else… I’ve realized how desperately we need to take dance lessons.

So, I keep questioning my decision to have a band. A band can bring you back in time and really liven up the room. Who doesn’t love a live show after all? But with a DJ, you can pick any music you want and change it as you go if you need to pick it up a bit! Plus you can do fun things like Allison did, and have your guests make hilarious song requests.

I was also thinking about getting a vintage record player and laying out a bunch of vinyls for people to pick and choose what they wanted to listen to. Maybe during the cocktail hour?

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

What are you doing for your reception music?  Have you been to a wedding with a band?  Or is a DJ the way to go?

During what seemed like our lifetime-long venue search, I had mentioned to one of the numerous venue coordinators we met with that lighting was important to me. Specifically, I wanted a feeling of coziness – dark, but not dark enough that you couldn’t see the person next to you. Just an overall feeling of warmth and glow. Not very specific, right? But without skipping a beat, this well-seasoned wedding professional responded knowingly, “Oh yes – you want dark and sparkly.”

Of course she hit the nail on the head and since that moment, “dark and sparkly” has been a key theme in my wedding planning. Luckily, our venue’s gold-leafed ceilings will contribute perfectly to this theme.

Credits: The City Club

And similar to my fellow blogger, Taylor, I anticipate that candles will play a huge part in achieving this vision.

Credits: Twinkle, Centerpieces, Reception

Credits: Reception, Hat

Can you see what I am going for? Warm, cozy and of course dark and sparkly! Now tell me what’s your lighting inspiration?