wedding wednesday: 10 favorite weddings

I go back and forth almost daily how I feel about the engagement time and this season of life. It's so sweet but so much more stressful than I imagined. I'm such a visual and design oriented person that I thought the planning part of this would be my playground. I quickly realized planning is more about excel spreadsheets and emails than dresses and flowers. Like most other seasons of life, I'll be ready when it's time for it to end. I think it's Gods way of preparing and moving us on to the next phase of life. One thing I have loved though is looking at all the wedding and photography blogs. So. Much. Pretty. As you can see my taste in style is all over the place. This has made making descisions for my own wedding tough impossible. These are my ten favorite weddings (in no particular order) compiled from all corners of the internet.  Enjoy! It's fun to dream isn't it?

1. Mexico wedding

Location, location, location. I can not imagine a more beautiful place to get married than where this ceremony took place. I love that it has the feel of a traditional church but with a twist. Also, the dress. Ethereal at its absolute best.

 

2. Paris wedding

People throw the phrase, "took my breath away," quite a lot but I am not exaggerating when I say that I literally gasped when I saw this dress. It's classic and beautiful in the most simple and elegant form. I think it's nearly impossible to plan a truly timeless wedding. Styles and trends change so quickly and unexpectedly that it's hard to know whether you'll be laughing at your wedding photos in 15 years or not. I think this wedding might have nailed it in the timeless category though. 

3. City hall wedding

I am absolutely positively obsessed with city hall weddings. I love them so much. I think they are amongst the cutest and most charming affairs on the planet, and the people that get married there are always the most stylish. I love the mod 60s sort of look the bride went with here. You can so sense the giddy factor in these photos and it makes me swoon.

4. Bohemian wedding

I find this take on the bohemian wedding trend to be so refreshing. It's understated and not trying too hard. While some might find her outfit choice a bit trendy it seems almost timeless to me in a Jane Birkin sort of way. I think it's so chic when brides wear something a little off beat for their wedding. I would love to see a bride rock this J.Crew jumpsuit for a city hall wedding or elopement. 

5. Backyard wedding

My favorite kinds of weddings are backyard weddings. One of my close friends was married in her aunts backyard and I thought it was the most special and intimate wedding. This wedding reflects that same feel paired with unique and truly beautiful details. The whole wedding looks like almost a dream sequence to me. I love some of the unexpected elements she chose; her petite and simple bouquet I found to be so charming it made me reconsider what I want. I also adore her choice to go with the veil in front of the face, a traditional element you rarely see anymore that I find to be so romantic. The stunning headpiece and dress were the icing on the cake. As you can see I used the most photos from this wedding. I simply couldn't narrow it down.

6. Nashville wedding

Favorite elements from this wedding include the vintage botanical envelope liners and that dreamy blush colored Reem Acra dress. The way the rawness of the florals offset the softer elements of this wedding is brilliant as well. 

8.  Elegant San Francisco wedding

I can't decide what I love more, the dress or the smile that's plastered across the grooms face in all of these pictures. BUT SERIOUSLY THAT DRESS. 

9. Beautiful traditional church wedding

The joy between this couple is so evident in these photos and it just melts my heart. Other heart stopping moments? That veil! Where does one find such a veil? I also loved that they were married in an old beautiful wooden church. I searched high and low for something similar but couldn't find one big enough to seat over 100 people. 

10. Timeless wedding

Florals+dress, need I say more?  This wedding feels so elegant and classy while not being stuffy. It's one of my absolute favorites.

a few of my favorite things

Temperatures dipped into the 50s today and I wanted to basically slam dunk a pumpkin. This rocks. Long live Fall! I'm wanting to make these "a few of my favorite things," posts a weekly thing. They're fun to put together and a nice way to kick off the weekend!

This candle from Madewell smells like fall and Don Draper. Or what I imagine Don Draper to smell like...It is too good. 

The perfect nude/blush color. I'm thinking this will be my color for wedding day (eeekkk!).

I used some of my graduation money to buy these vintage Kilim pillows from Etsy. I can't wait to put them on our couch in a few months. Tip: if you're on the hunt for some Kilim pillows Etsy is the place to be. You can find great quality for a fraction of the price.

One of my friends bought me this sweatshirt recently. IT JUST KILLS ME. 

Happy weekend!

running: a beginners guide

Preface: It should be noted that this is a guide for beginning runners. Meaning, if you run ten miles on the reg or have a 13.1 sticker on the back of your car, I have very little to say to you. This is geared towards people who can't run a mile before calling their mom to come pick them up for a ride. If this is you, let's talk.

But first, story time. I've always wanted to be the type of person that could just go for a run like it was no big deal. It seemed like a great stress reliever and workout that required no equipment or gym membership. I branded myself as "just not a runner." I assumed I was born with some sort of irreversible deficiency that prevented me from running, the way a gluten intolerance bans a person from bread for life. About a year ago though, a friend of mine challenged me to reevaluate my fate. She was no more a runner than me and was training for her first half-marathon. Well, this sucks. I was all out of excuses. I realized what was missing for me was not some ambiguous running gene but rather a lack of persistence and patience. I started reading articles online about running, bought some shoes (actual running shoes) from the Nike outlet, and downloaded a running app. I was going to follow through with this if it was the last thing I did.

It started out slowly and painfully. I would set time goals for myself, huffing and puffing around the park until the time on the screen finally said nine minutes. Then it was ten, fifteen, twenty minutes... Eventually, I started keeping track in miles. Long story short, a year and over 360 miles later I can now run up to six miles.

Without sounding over dramatic, running has been one of the best things to happen to me. Like every other female on the planet I've struggled with body insecurities almost my whole life and running has given me a confidence like never before. It's hands down the best workout I've ever done and I've seen results like never before, but really, it goes deeper than that. I have my fair share of days when I don't like what I see in the mirror and on those days knowing that this body of mine can run four, five, or six miles gives me a great deal of confidence and thankfulness. I feel proud of what I've accomplished and what my body is capable of (especially compared to a year ago). I would encourage everyone to find a physical activity they can challenge themselves with, running or not.

As mentioned earlier, I'm no running expert but I do want to share a few things I've learned for anyone that is looking to start running.

- Running can be incredibly intimidating at the start. Seeing girls fly by you in their lululemon shorts with seemingly little struggle sucks. Try to believe that if you are running you are a runner. This is your new chant. Cheesy? Yeah, but it works. Regardless of if you're running down the block or doing a marathon, you're a runner. Keep in mind that everyone started where you did and it takes time and persistence. Very few people are born natural runners and it takes some work at the beginning.

- In the beginning measure yourself in time not distance and then gradually work up from there. This was something I read in a couple of different articles. Focus on building up a consistent pace and endurance in the beginning and then when you've established a base move on to mile markers. This also helps from getting discouraged at the start.

- If you don't have them already, invest in some running shoes. You don't have to spend a fortune but buy some shoes actually designed for running with good support. Very important in terms of preventing injuries.

- One of the things that was hardest for me to figure out in the beginning was how to stay hydrated. There were many runs in the beginning cut short not because I couldn't go any further but because I was straight up about to lick the dew off the grass. It's not rocket science and you'll find that as you run more drinking water becomes almost a constant thing. Hydrating can't be something you do two hours before you run, it has to be part of your lifestyle. I really hate that I just said that. 

-Last but not least, you have to stick with it. Consistency and persistence is the name of the game here. I can remember running into a friend about a month into running and complaining that I couldn't seem to get past a mile and a half. "I had that too but you'll be surprised how fast it happens." That very day I ran four miles. It was the strangest thing. If you stick with it, I think you too will be surprised by how fast you progress. Develop a schedule that works for you-every other day, three times a week, whatever, and then stick with it and you'll amaze yourself.

my thoughts exactly

"This living stuff is a lot. Too much, and not enough. Half empty, and half full."

-Diane Keaton

Life feels like drinking water from a fire hose these days. I'm sure I'm not the only one, fight the good fight friends.

minimalism movement

Photo from Bleubird duhhhh

Lately, it seems that all of a sudden we're asking the same questions and having the same conversations all at once. At least that's my observation from my little corner of the universe. The subject of minimalism seems to be finding its way into all of my conversations, blogs I follow, and websites I check. One by one it seems that we're all slowly opening our eyes and being woken up to the reality of the sheer amount of excess and crap in our lives. "I feel like I'm being swallowed by all the stuff around me," a friend told me recently over coffee. I'm not sure what it is that sparked this shift in the way we're all thinking (it may be so shallow as the trendiness of Scandinavian design, which is having a moment) but isn't it about time?

I've never thought of myself as a particularly frivolous person. I drive a crappy used car, my Dell is quite literally falling apart and minutes from blowing up, and I never buy things unless they're on sale. I suppose I never thought I struggled with excess because I always compared myself to people that had more than me. Then, the wake up call...

A couple months ago I moved out of my last college apartment. This move seemed more overwhelming than any of the others and I'll go ahead and credit that to the fact that I waited until the last minute and did most of it by myself with the help of my fiance. But still, there's something about the act of moving that's the equivalent to putting on the most in focus pair of glasses you've ever tried on. It's amazing the common sense that can come from the motivation of one less box to pack and unpack. All of a sudden, I found myself asking, "will I ever really wear this dress I bought on sale for when I lose those ten pounds?" and then for the first time answering honestly. I seem to finally be able to see the five thousand knick-knacks littering my desk for what they really are...a waste of space. I filled up bag after bag of things that seemed so worthy and important and brilliant when they were sitting in the Anthropologie sale room and dropped them off at the Goodwill. Each time I dropped off those bags I felt lighter and because of that feeling I knew something had to change.

Nick and I have been talking a lot about how we'll soon be coming together to create our own little family of two, our own family with its own culture and values. It's very exciting. We like the idea of starting this next chapter with minimalism in mind. We've been talking about how we want to spend our money and the importance of quality of quantity. It's so easy to be seduced by a good deal without asking, "do I really want this?" Or more importantly, "do I really need this?" There's something to be said for buying only what you truly need and then when you do, investing well in those things and keeping them for the long haul. Being wise and thoughtful about each purchase, I like it.

I filled up and dropped off some more bags at Goodwill (shoes this time...RIP) today and was thinking about how the whole purging part of this minimalism thing is actually the easy part...the fun part. It feels oh so good to free up space in your life physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It's liberating. After I've sorted through all the piles though, ahh yes that will be when the rubber meets the road. It's time to actually practice this minimalism I speak of. It will be time to stare a J. Crew sale in the face and then walk away. God help us. Not as warm and fuzzy as the purging part is the actual practice of it. I suspect phase two of this new journey to be...a struggle to say the very least.

Your thoughts on all this minimalism jazz? Have you been feeling the same way? Let's chat.

saturday inspiration

Jenna is my name and Pinterest is my game. Follow the fun here!

honey of a thousand flowers

Perhaps one of my favorite things about the blogging world is the sense of community it creates. I've been following a lengthy list of blogs since my sophomore year of high school and as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like I've walked through so many different seasons of life with the blogs of the people I follow. I've watched as many have gotten married, had children, moved across the country, and grown a business. I feel deeply connected to these people in a way that's pretty weird. I mean good gosh, I practically went through puberty with Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes. I've especially loved seeing the people behind these blogs take risks with creative and business endeavors. It's exciting and so encouraging to watch it all grow and come together. 

I first stumbled upon Sarah Winward a few years ago while browsing the blog of Carissa Gallo, who at the time was fixing to help start up a little publication you may have heard of called Kinfolk(!!!). Sarah was breaking ground with her floral business (Honey of a Thousand Flowers) at the time and I was totally captivated by her style and couldn't wait to see what all she would do. Well, a few years passed and as I was seeking out floral inspiration the other day her name randomly came to me and irweurnewkfajasdi is she amazing! I'm blown away by how talented she is. Every wedding, styled shoot, event, etc. is an absolute dream to me, the perfect combination of natural and romantic. Enjoy and check out her blog y'all!