Well, thanks to y’all, I have a plethora of new Southern adventures I want to try. Such great answers on my last post! Congrats to [randomly chosen] winner of the gorgeous custom leather luggage tags from Of the Fountain, Caroline K, who said: I think this is my favorite SW post ever. To me, those ordinarily wonderful moments are what add up to a lifetime of happiness. Perhaps because our graduate student budgets forced it, but most of our relationship was built wandering through small bookstores, sandwich shops, and towns in this Old North State. My favorite of these “wanderings” is when we meandered up the Outer Banks last summer– staying only in B&Bs, stopping at any interesting shop (or sand dune), and eating all the local ice cream we wanted! Love it! Email us your info and we’ll get your custom luggage tags made for you. Enjoy your adventures ahead!
Well, friends, I’m headed to a different South tomorrow… SoCal! I’m so excited to be speaking on branding with a couple of my dearest friends at the Engage!11 luxury wedding conference in San Diego next week. The best of the best in the wedding world gather twice a year for this incredible summit. This will be my sixth time attending Engage! and my third time as a speaker. If you are coming next week, please come give me a hug and say hi! A favorite pic below of Emily and I walking the “pink” carpet last year with Engage! friends (shot by DVB Photographers). All you “Say Yes to the Dress” fans will recognize my sweet friend to my left who is brilliant at making brides feel like a million bucks on their big day:
A very simple thought for you this week: how do you want to feel on your wedding day? Most brides focus more on how they want the day to look than how they want to feel. They focus just on the surface details and end up spinning their planning wheels. When you focus on how the day will feel, decisions get so much easier! Use all five senses. How do you want the smells, sights, sounds, textures and tastes to tell your authentic love story and make you and your guests feel? When all of those things are blended together beautifully, a true celebration comes to life! If your goal is to feel 100% relaxed, calm and focused on loving your fiance and family on the day of, all of your decisions should be rooted in that goal. Perhaps that complicated first dance routine you’ve been stressing over can go… and those cute little favors that are going to take you 20 hours to construct the day before the wedding. Focus on how you want to feel, what really matters and simplify, simplify, simplify!
Every day of my engagement, I’d want to feel 100% focused on my marriage and growing with my fiance. Loving this shot from Adam Hudson Photography.
This image from V3, shot by Paul Johnson, mirrors exactly how I’d want to feel on the big day: carefree and exceedingly joyful!
And when the party starts going, I’d want to feel like there’s no place in the world I’d rather be – surrounded by the people I love – having the time of my life! Photo by Poser.
GIVEAWAY: This week’s giveaway is sure to make you feel calm and relaxed on the big day. I am a huge fan of these delicious candles from Illume.
The scent of Southern gardenia, star jasmine or sweet rhubarb wafting through the house as you get ready? Yes, please! Three lucky winners will get Illume candles for their big day prep (or to just set the mood for a romantic dinner with your sweetie!).
To enter, simply tell us what you want you wedding day to feel like!
Lara, I can’t tell you how much I needed this reminder. I’m a month away from my “big day,” and the stress is starting to pile on my shoulders. This was the perfect post for today. The wedding of my dreams is one in which I feel all the emotions that I imagined I would when I first got engaged. That same love “overdose” that you want to cling to forever. I have been in a long distance with my fiance for three years, and we have overcome some extreme obstacles in the process. So on that day, when I’m standing next to the love of my life, all I want to feel is the nearness of him- the feeling that I crave all day every day… the feeling that I get to feel for the rest of my life.
Oh, Kristin! I’m thinking of you! You WILL have everything you are desiring here because it sure sounds like you want it badly enough to make those things come to life. I immediately started singing “The Nearness of You” by Nora Jones when I read this. So many good wishes for your wedding from all of us!
Serendipitous
On my wedding day, I want to feel light and carefree. I want to feel the warmth of love from my family and friends as the support and help my Fiance and I take this huge step in our lives.
Most of all, I want to feel comfortable: with my guests, with my ceremony, with my dress, with my expectations of the day. Like a pint of ice cream and your man’s sweatpants — your wedding should feel as good on the day of as it does on paper. I can’t wait!
OK, Nicole, don’t laugh. I immediately saw the words “like a pint of icecream” and the prego lady in me did a little happy dance! Love how you described this!
I want my day to be filled with love. I want my guests to be excited and comfortable… bright colors, live singer/songwriter, beer, and delicious food. The reception site is contemporary and it reflects mine and my fiance’s personality, so I want people to feel special to be a part of US on our big day. Most importantly, I want it to feel HOLY. It’s a very important religious sacrament, so I want to feel the presence of God the whole day!
You are a woman after my own heart, Madelynne! “Holy” is exactly the feeling of joy, authenticity and connectedness I would want. Many blessings on your marriage! Keep us posted!
I want to be overflowing with happiness! Laughing, crying from being so happy and laughing so much with my soon to be husband, family and friends. And just to live in the moment!
Candles can be relaxing, soothing, and luminous. That is how I want to feel. Relaxed that I will be able to pull off a small intimate wedding. Soothed that everyone can make it and enjoys themselves during our special day. And luminous.. I want to look radiant and at ease. :)
Lara, I LOVE that you can meet and greet with Randy! You’re right–he has the most amazing ability to make everyone feel so special; I even start to feel excited and beautiful just when WATCHING Randy work his magic! I made sure to tune into TLC’s coverage of the royal wedding, too, since he’s so fun to watch on TV! Anyway, I’m hoping my wedding (we did a JOP in March but are planning a big shindig in September of 2012 when he’ll be home from deployment) will be “swanky, sexy, fun”–since we’re already legally married I want it to have a party vibe, but also be gorgeous and, well, swanky! I want my bridesmaids to feel gorgeous in their dresses and I want guests to feel like the champagne’s-a-flowin’ like a 1920s new year’s eve party!
Oh my goodness, Erin, I will tell Randy about your wedding when I see him! My husband was deployed for quite a while and it is a huge sacrifice. Please thank him from all of us for his service. Enjoy that swanky party in September – you deserve it!
Lara: Thank you so much, Lara! I’ll be sure to tell him :) You guys are too sweet <3 I don't think I realized your husband was deployed for a while–how did you stay sane? I'm trying to find lots of activities to keep me busy (a new house and a new dog I think may do the trick!), but still it's hard to think I won't see him for six months!
RELAXED! and lucky ;)
I want to feel a dash of excitement, a handful of happiness, and a pinch on nervousness. Most of all I want to soak in every second.
This post comes at a funny time for me. Just last night I was going through a “wedding design questionnaire” with my fiance and we got to a question that stated “On our wedding day, we want our guests to feel….” and you had to fill in the blank. Without skipping a beat, he blurted out “joyfully tipsy!” He, of course, didn’t intend for me to read more into than that, but I think it conveys a feeling of lightheartedness and celebration of joy. In that sense, he’s pretty spot-on.
Haha! I LOVE that response! I’ll be thinking of you two and hope your day is 100% just that – “joyfully tipsy”!
I want my wedding to feel like being transported back in time to the late 1950s. Drinks in hand, Sinatra singing in the background, and preppy pink!
I want my wedding to feel light and happy.
I want my wedding to feel casual, tuscan and stress free!
i want my wedding to feel completely blessed, carefree, and happy. i want the day to radiate with love and joy. I hope people remember our wedding day as a celebration of love, forever-ness and family– and great food, drinks and dancing!!
i want my wedding day to feel sweet and southern. how do you feel southern? well, i recently moved to the deep south, where moss hangs from trees as you drive down the street. where the hot, humid days turn into warm evenings on the back deck telling stories with a cold drink (or two). i want my wedding day to smell of sweet peonies splashed with hydrangeas and roses. i want a light, airy feel in the atmosphere, achieved by men wearing seersucker and ladies in light pastels. i want the mood to be light, yet emotional as i see my husband for the first time as i walk down the aisle. i want a reception filled with good, fun music in the air and dancing away the night with the most important people in my life. most importantly, i want my wedding day to feel like LOVE. i already have that…just ready to let everyone else feel what i feel each day!
This sounds like a dream! Love everything you wrote here and I hope your day is perfectly “southern”!
On my wedding day, I want to feel complete BLISS! Blessed to be marrying my best friend, happy to be surrounded by amazing friends and feeling all the love from my family and sharing it with my new family!
I want to feel like I’m going to feel for the rest of my life :)
Yes yes yes!
I want my wedding to feel like a beautiful new beginning! i’m so excited for our future!
I want my wedding day to feel like the celebration that no one wants to end! Cozy yet fun, fresh, airy, romantic and, of course, southern! Lots of dancing and lots of fun. Full of love, for sure!
On my wedding day, I want to feel overwhelming relief, peace and calm that this pivotal point in my life has finally arrived. I want to be present in each moment and soak it up like a sponge. I want to revel in the one night that all of my and my mans family and friends are in one place, having a good time, and celebrating our love.
Oh my word, I want to come to ALL of your weddings!!!
Well..I felt FAN TAS TIC on my wedding day. I felt healthy, confident, excited. CALM – because I had amazing women like Marissa Kloess {and others} helping the day set up just right. My day went so well, as a wedding coordinators assistant, I knew to let the uh-oh’s and whoopsies go, and to just embrace the whole day for what it was and however it turned out. Lucky me, it was perfect.
2 years and my own business later; I took those feelings to heart and they are the core of my business: {direct from the philosophy tab on my website} “It’s neither the dress, nor the rings, the flowers or the cake; the most important detail a couple should remember on their wedding day is to breath in the love of the people that surround them. Their family, their wedding party, and their guests deserve the best them during the planning process and especially on the big day”
You really can’t go wrong with Marissa there!!!! Lucky bride, you!!!
There are many things I want my wedding day to feel like: calm, relaxed, exciting, classy, and just absolutely perfect. However, when it all comes down to it, I want my wedding day to feel like a Beginning: the beginning of my life as not only just a best friend, but as a wife. I want to feel the excitement and anticipation that one has at the beginning of a story, the joy and delight as one hears the story, and the hope that one feels as they anticipate the happy ending. A wedding is a celebration, and I want it to feel that way!
fun fun fun. laid back. a dream come true <3
I want my day to feel like we’re walking on air. My dear friend is officiating, my best friend’s husband is playing guitar and another good friend is singing – our friends’ and families’ involvement is key to our day. We want everything to be fun and light and a celebration for all. More than half of our 265 invited guests are from out of town – so this will be a special reunion also.
We’re getting married in a courtyard, which will then be transformed for cocktail hour with high top tables decorated with ivory candles – the whole courtyard will have a soft glow. Inside at the reception our best man’s dad will be our DJ/singer – entertaining our guests with special songs and humor.
We’ll have a “family tree” table with pictures of our parents’, grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ wedding photos. This is our way of carrying on their traditions and paying our respects to those not with us on this special day – I can’t wait to spend time at this table and kind of “check in” through out the night with his mother and my grandparents.
Personally, I want to relaxed, comfortable and filled with joy and love. I want to feel my most beautiful. With him as my partner? I always do.
I want to have faith in all the work we’ve put in and comfort when I see the shared love and happiness in our guests’ faces. We have an amazing family friend doing our flowers and I can’t wait until the room is filled with the scent of the fresh flowers and greens that she selects.
Also, the gift he decided to give me on our wedding day is a perfume he selects personally – I can’t wait to see (smell!) what he chooses and breathe it in all day – then when I wear it in the future, it’ll refresh all of our amazing memories.
Goodness – I could go on forever! Less than 4 months until I have the honor of calling my best friend, my husband. I cannot wait.
Well I’d have to say my wonderful fiance said it very well, “I want it to feel like Christmas morning, and fireworks, and birthdays, and puppies!” He is just so darned cute! And he’s so right! I’m so very very lucky.
We wanted our day to feel like a big family reunion where we were surrounded by the love of our family and friends who have become family! Both of us growing up, had family as a huge part of our lives and we knew our wedding wouldn’t be any other way.
We want our wedding day to feel like a cross between a family reunion on a hot summers day lounging by the pool, and a romantic, secret garden. The cross between is his vs my vision haha.
Oh this sounds divine!!
I imagine my day filled with love and laughter surrounded by my closest friends and loved one. The only thing better than sharing my love with my partner is sharing that spirit with the whole family…while dancing the night away :)
[…] week, Lara is asking another crucial question that we often overlook. How do you want to feel on your wedding day? Use all five of your senses and focus on that amid all the wedding planning hubbub. Go to the […]
On my wedding day, I want to feel relaxed, calm, and elated. I don’t want to be stressed, worried, or irritated. From lovely scented candles to a morning yoga session, I will do what it takes to make sure nothing gets to me on my big day. I wasn’t going to hire an event planner, but I believe it’s worth it! Let them deal with the stress!!!
I want my wedding day to feel like the two of us…laid back and happy and full of love.
I feel like my fiance, Adam, put it best when I asked him what he wanted our wedding to feel like:
“Like Christmas morning, Fourth of July fireworks, birthdays, puppies and swinging on the swing set!”
I think that sounds like it will feel wonderful. :)
On my wedding day I want to feel the excitement and anticipation of the first snowflakes in winter, the warmth of a mellow, sultry evening in July, and the connection I felt when we first walked into the mountain chapel where we want to get married.
I want it to feel surreal, surrounded by so many people who love us, looking at the one who loves me more than anyone on this earth, and to feel God in that place when I join the one made for me. I want to soak it in, bottle it up, and save it for the rest of our lives.
On my wedding day above all the crazy, joyful excitement… I want to feel peace.
I want it to feel like a dream come true. I want that feeling of butterfly’s in my stomach,the knot in my throat while trying not to cry, the feel of my first tear drop rolled down my face,the feeling i get the first time I see Stephen looking at me, the feeling I get on the father daughter dance,and the feeling of love from all the attendees. I know my wedding day will be one I will never NEVER forget.
I want my special day to be filled with lovely fresh flowers & scents. The aroma sticks in your mind & reminds you of what you were doing on that day.