10.27.2014

it's fall y'all



man, have the weather gods been smiling down on us here in north carolina for the past few weekends!  the days are filled with warm golden sunshine, and the nights have been clear and crisp! summer will always be my favorite season, but this year fall is a pretty close second.  we indulged in lots of fun fall festivities this beautiful weekend, including a corn maze with friends and the fourth annual trottier pumpkin carving contest (i win every year).  you can see our annual pumpkin carving contest from last year here.  the following are a few pics from our weekend:




















mine is on the left and cory's is on the right.  he likes to stick with a similar classic design each year, while i like to go with fun goofy designs.  this year, i used my favorite emoji as my inspiration, can you tell which one it is?


pumpkin spiced roasted pumpkin seeds!  i kind of free-styled the recipe and since i don't like to measure stuff, here's how it goes:  rinse and dry the seeds after removing from inside of pumpkin.  melt a tablespoon or two of butter depending on how many seeds you have and toss seeds to coat.  in the same bowl sprinkle seeds with brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice and toss until evenly coated.  spread seeds into a thin even layer on baking pan and bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so.  before the final 15 minute stir, sprinkle seeds with a dusting of white granulated sugar and finish baking.  delicioso!


10.03.2014

wedded bliss



it's been a little over three months since we said "i do" and i've finally had a chance to put together a compilation of some of my favorite photos from our wedding day (aka, the best day ever).  cory and i have both said on multiple occasions, that we wish we could have a wedding celebration every weekend.  don't believe the negative things people say about wedding planning, and don't listen to them when they tell you to spare the headache and "just elope".  we had the best time planning our wedding, and it was so gratifying to see a years worth of planning play out in one day.  it's been said that weddings are more for the families than they are for the bride and groom.  i would disagree. there is absolutely no better feeling in the world than having everyone you love and hold so dear all underneath the same roof.  so many memories were made that day, and i will cherish every moment for the rest of my life.

i'm an extremely lucky gal to have had these girls by my side throughout the wedding process.  between bridal brunches, bachelorette parties and staying up late to assemble bouquets and centerpieces, i sure am thankful for my amazing friends and the memories i've made with each of them.  also, how awesome is my bff?  with all the stress that came with the morning of the wedding, my initial plans of doing my own hair were put on the long list of  "things i don't have time to think about right now".  i asked her while we were all getting ready if she would do my hair.  i saw her panic (only for a second), but she managed to style my blonde tresses into the most beautiful chignon.  i love you emily!

my bouquet.  i'm so glad i decided to do my own flowers.  it was a bit of a gamble, but i saved tons of money, and i can't imagine them looking more perfect!

the flower girls and ring bearer definitely made a cute entrance :)

oh, this photo is so emotional for me.  like every little girl, i have always wondered and dreamed of what the moment would be like when my dad walked me down the aisle.  i'm typically the type of person who will cry during a subaru commercial, so i knew this was going to be a moment of uncontrollable tears since my dad is equally as emotional.  i'm really proud though, because we held ourselves together pretty well.  my dad cracked a few jokes on our walk down to cory, and we talked about certain things the minister instructed us to say and do the day before at the rehearsal.  before i knew it, i was standing in front of cory (almost) tear-free, thanks to my dad.  

our first look.

as you can tell, we tried to keep the ceremony humorous and uplifting.  i really cherish the fact that we wrote our own vows to each other and that our promises came from our own hearts.  it made me look forward to the ceremony even more... i was really excited to hear what cory came up with!
our "modeling photo".  hah.
^^^this may forever be my favorite photo of us for all time!


the dessert table was one of my favorite projects.  thanks to cory's mom for the delicious cake and cupcakes!  also, the french macarons from guglhupf  were a huge hit and looked really pretty.
the dancing photos are some of my favorites!  i love seeing the smiling faces of all our friends and family cuttin' loose and having a good time.
our "grand exit" was pretty great!  in case you're wondering, it's really fun being carried down an aisle of sparklers.  you should try it some time :)

okay...this may be my favorite photo of us for all time.  i haven't decided yet.


dress: bhldn, photographer: waterhouse studios, venue: snipes farm, flowers: fifty flowers, officiant: rev. barbara lodge