Crazy Summer

I realize I've been very sporadic with my posts this summer. I have to admit it's been a whirlwind summer and I've simply had to prioritize everything and something had to give. It's been a great summer though...I've had my wedding reception, we've honeymooned in St. Lucia, I've taken my oldest son to visit three universities and have vacationed with my mother. I've spent lazy days at the pool with our four children and have worked on some great new business ventures.

I apologize for the lack of communication this summer, but promise to be more diligent once the kiddos are back in school and I have from 9-2 each day to work without interruption. I'll fill you in then on the wedding reception details and the honeymoon and all the other great things going on in my business world, as well.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a couple of my favorite pics from the wedding. I only have a couple of them available today, as the photographer will be sending me more finished photos in the coming weeks.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

My brothers, Jay and Tod.

Luke gave his Momma away.

Anyone know a "sun dance"???

Well our wedding reception is finally upon us. You may recall we were officially married by a JP in our home on October 1, but we couldn't have our families and friends there easily on short notice and on a weekday morning. So we promised our brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews, along with our very closest friends- that we would have an outdoor reception for them in the spring, at Eric's family lodge in the mountains.
When I was dating Eric, he talked often about the "cabin" in Breezewood, PA that his father and he had built themselves on a 300 acre parcel tucked away in the mountains. He spoke of it as if it were a magical place and his eyes twinkled when he told me how excited he would be to take me there soon. Now, I've seen plenty of cabins and "get away" spots before, so I smiled nicely and told him how excited I was to see it. Well I have to say, that when he finally drove me up the picturesque mile-long driveway, this "cabin" took my breath away! It is so beautiful and really is a magical place. Every detail was attended to when this family built their vacation spot. Much love went into creating a special place for special family gatherings. Once there, I could see why this place meant so much to my new fiance. So I looked at him and said, "this is where we should be married!" You should have seen the smile on his face and later, the same smile on his father's face when we told him of our decision! This "cabin" as they call it (it's truly more of a 6 bedroom lodge!) was built with the sole purpose to bring family together. What better place could there be, to celebrate our love and family than this! So, while we were officially married in our home last October, we will renew our vows this time in front of all of our loved ones. This will be a perfect opportunity for us to thank those closest to us, for their support and love over the years. The people in attendance are those who have seen us through the rough times and have helped us get to this new, happy and loving place we are today. We have much to be grateful for and have the perfect location in which to celebrate.
So, final preparations are being made. The only concern we have now is the weather. We have a tent for the tables and caterer, but really want the ceremony to be outside on the lawn. We would also love for our 21 children in attendance to be able to play outside at this wonderful mountain retreat. So, if you happen to know a "sun dance", now would be a great time to do it! The Breezewood weather report is calling for rain!

Regardless, rain or shine, our day will be magical. With such a unique and true love, wonderful people and a magical location, we can't help but have a memorable day.

An Interior Designer's Outdoor Wedding

I know that the average person would have very high expectations for a designer's wedding. They would expect that every detail would be meticulously planned and all of the decor, food and favors would be exquisite and unique. However, this designer has been so busy with her clients and business ventures, that her wedding reception is now only three months away and nothing other than the location and photographer, have been attended to!
When Eric and I became engaged last spring and began discussing our wedding, I told him that I had always wanted a fall, outdoor wedding. I grew up on a farm and my family ran a horseback riding stable for the Bedford Springs Resort in PA. I love country living and knew that my dream wedding would be in a sweet little country setting. Well it just so happens that Eric's parents own a beautiful, 300 acre mountain lodge that could host the most beautiful of weddings and we were both certain that we wanted to exchange vows there. However, there was one problem. The lodge was used for about 2 months each fall for the hunters in the family. We knew we wanted to get my boys settled into their new school that fall and couldn't put the wedding off until the following spring and be "living in sin" for all those months in between! So we decided to exchange vows in October, in our own home and have a small ceremony and reception including our brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and our best of friends- at the lodge in the spring. A bit unconventional, but it worked for our purposes. We were able to get the boys established in their new schools and be legitimately married in the fall. Now that spring is nearing, I find myself overwhelmed with family and work and with a big lack of time for the planning! I spent a bit of time yesterday trying to gather ideas and came up with a few, however I would absolutely love your input on these ideas and any suggestions otherwise!

 

This is Breeze Mountain Lodge- owned by Eric's parents

There is a pond just below the house, but after the water disaster I showed you in my last post, I think I'll be steering clear of the pond! This is actually much prettier in the spring and summer with the trees in full bloom!

 

Isn't this little sign cute? Coutesy of Country Living

Courtesy of Style Me Pretty  

I know I want a sweet little arch...must be made of wood and be very organic. Nothing overdone!

Needs a little greenery on the arch, but the shape and material is a good start! Hoping my wedding morning isn't foggy like this...and definitely not raining. We would have to cram 50 people inside the lodge in that case!

Isn't this sweet for the seating? Although our vows will be very short so we might have folks stand around us for the five minutes that might involve.

Simple elegance

Isn't this sweet? I'd be afraid my guest might not like the straw bale seating, but I love the table settings. What are your thoughts on the straw bales? 

I kind of like the idea of a picnic theme, but maybe with pretty green linens that dress it up a bit.

It will be difficult to get a caterer to come out to the location, so we might be making the food ourselves. Picnic style might be perfect. What do you think?

Oh! I love this table setting...and look at those pretty pies! Style Me Pretty 

I would love to serve pretty little cupcakes like these! 

Lemonade and tea served in old fashioned style! Country Living  

 

A simple bouquet- Country Living 

Green Wedding has these sweet favors! I love the idea of a green wedding!

 

Potted herbs would be a nice favor. Or even this sweet little decoupaged box with some soaps or mints inside. Courtesy of Country Living

Please, please, please! Share your thoughts on these ideas- be honest! And send some additional ideas my way. I have three months to go, two businesses to run, four kids and we're still building our house. I can use all of the help that I can get! I'm a pretty laid back, country girl at heart and can roll with the punches and laugh at myself...so I'm open to all ideas. I just want this reception to be a relaxed, pretty and romantic way for our families and friends to celebrate our love and get to know one another better. The simpler, the better!

What have you got?