wedding

Latest Obsessions 09.17

| The Bee Life

It seems like every time I check the calendar it’s the last week of another month! Where did the month of September go!?  I hope you enjoy this month’s latest obsession; spoiler they’re fall focused – because as much as I still love soaking up all this warm sun, I love all the fall feels.
Latest Obsessions 0917 - the bee life
Booties: I think booties are the perfect transitional shoe for cool summer nights into fall days. Not to mention booties are still the perfect accessory to cute dresses into the winter and spring seasons. I need all the booties!

Cozy Fall Mornings: There is nothing I love more than sitting and enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee, especially when it’s on the weekend and the sun is shining bright with a nice cool breeze. It’s the perfect way to start the weekend and get ready for the day!

Sweatshirt Dress:  I had featured a dress in a recent blog post highlighting Cabi’s Fall/Winter collection and I’m still dreaming over the Flashdance Dress! I’ve been trying to find a similar one that is a little more affordable, but no luck yet. The shape of the Flashdance dress is so flattering and the fabric used for the Cabi dress is like wearing the softest blanket around your body!

Our Wedding! Okay, this one isn’t so fall related – but we’re less than 2-months from our wedding day. EEEK! Like everyone else who has ever gotten married, I am just ready for the actual day. It’ll be bitter sweet.

What are you favorite things about fall?


Photo Source: Top Left | Top Right | Bottom Left | Bottom Right

Weekend Recap – #AlwaysAndForEbner

| The Bee Life

Saturday after our half marathon we had to quickly jump on the road and head home so we could make it to our friends wedding that night! Yes. We ran a half marathon, then pretty much immediate jumped in a car for 4-hours, got pretty in 1-hour and were at the wedding with 5-minutes to spare. Woo! Staying with me?

Yeah, it was crazy but we wouldn’t have missed J and B’s wedding.  They’ve become dear friends over the last few years, and we were honored to be guests at their nuptials. The venue was a historic arcade downtown and it was absolutely stunning. They wed on the grand staircase, their ceremony included a number of personal touches of loved ones past, each of the bride and grooms personalities/traits and how they’ve come to be as a couple.  It was so sweet!
AlwaysAndForEbner - the bee life
Once the ceremony finished, we were escorted up to cocktail hour to overlook the beautiful arcade. After some sips and snacks, we headed down to our tables and cheered for the bridal party and the bride and groom as they were officially announced to the reception!  The food was delicious, B and I both got the steak, and we were both a bit ravenous since it was our first real meal of the day. Eek!

Once the dancing got started it was a great mix of throwbacks and we were living on the dance floor, only stopping for more drinks or slow songs! The second most fun part (besides J and B getting married) was dancing it up with this group of friends, our neighbors. We’ve been so lucky to have an awesome group so close!

It was a long day, but it was a great night celebrating these two sweet, funny and caring people!  This wedding definitely got B and I excited for ours!

Cheers to Mr. and Mrs. E!

My Bachelorette Party – The Deets

| The Bee Life

I needed an extra day to recover and get all the deets from the Saturday evenings festivities.  It was my bachelorette!  From initial plans to head out to Vegas to see Magic Mike Live and the Backstreet Boys, to not knowing what the heck to do, but needing to do something for the sake of doing it – we settled on a “low-key” night out on the town. Dinner and a pit stop to a nearby club for some dancing would satisfy the bachelorette bug.

The night started with snacks and a champagne toast at the house before the limo arrived.  The girls spoiled me with a pantie box, a basket full of my favorite champagne to help celebrate upcoming firsts, and a fun pop-up photobooth, and of course jell-o champagne shots to help get the night started.  My bride tribe was greeted with adorable goodie bags on the limo, they were filled with essentials for the night from water, personalized wine glasses, snacks, hair ties, and of course mini-airplane bottle booze.
Bachelorette Party - the bee life
We headed to a local hot spot for dinner, Collision Bend Brewery. They also happen to have the best patio in town, and we were lucky to have the best seats in the place.  We arrived just as the sun was setting and it was incredible.  Not to mention our food and service was top notch.  The waiter was a blast, and the atmosphere and drinks only helped get the party started a bit more!

From dinner we took a quick limo ride to the nearby club, we arrived before all the cool kids, which worked out perfectly for us because we had first dibs on the dance floor! The music was on point and all we wanted to do was dance! After a few hours at the club, we continued the dancing and giggles on the limo back to the house to call it a night.

As much fun as it all was,  I am admittedly glad it’s over! All of these pre-wedding festivities have been fantastic, but also a ton of added stress/pressure, on top of high expectations, with an added layer of everyone’s opinion.  So I am glad to be able to just focus on the big day, that is quickly approaching! Eeek!

Cheers!

My Bridal Shower – Part 2

| The Bee Life

In case you missed it, part one was up yesterday, gushing over all my friends and family who came to my bridal shower this past weekend and helped make it so so special!  Part two, is all about the decor and food that was the cherry on top to everything else! And since I am used to running the show, it was hard for me to take a back seat and not be involved in the planning or decorating, but I kept myself busy and let them do their thing, and I was BLOWN AWAY!
My Bridal Shower P2 - the bee life
My mom, MIL and MOH<3 did an amazing job of coordinating all of this across state lines and literally building a beautiful space out of our garage.  From the food to the decor, everything was thought of and done to a tee, on theme, and exactly what I would’ve done! So now, here are the deets you’ve been waiting for!

The Menu: Cucumber cream cheese sandwiches,  egg salad sandwiches, turkey apple cheddar sandwiches, fresh fruit, and salad.  Accompanied with Sangria and a Mimosa bar!

The Dessert Table: Two amazing cakes from Scratch Bakeshop in Rochester (with GOLD!), peanut butter bars, raspberry bars, dipped chocolate pretzel sticks, custom sugar cookies, doughnut hole kabobs, and fruit pizza cups. OH. MY. GOD. It was a dream come true.

The Decor/Games:  Centerpieces filled with white and pink roses, gold, pink and black stripes everywhere and on the Date Night cards, the Who Am I? game cards, card table signage, and lots of balloons! It was all so beautiful.
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The shower was just an absolute dream, and I know how much everyone put into this to make it a special day for me, and it truly was!  The weather also shaped up and the sun was shining so it was a beautiful day for an outdoor backyard party.  I was overwhelmed by all the love and support.

Next up, the bachelorette party and then… the real thing!

My Bridal Shower – Part 1

| The Bee Life

This past weekend our wedding festivities officially kicked off!  We kicked it off with my bridal shower, and it was absolutely amazing! So where to even begin? My shower was hosted by my mom, my MIL and my MOH and we were able to have it at our house, as many people had to travel anywhere from 5-minutes to 4-hours, so I was very grateful to everyone who made the journey!  So bare with me through the upcoming sap…
My Bridal Shower P1 - the bee life
Family and friends are so important, and you truly learn who your friends are as you grow older in life – whether they’re new or old, it’s the bonds that keep you together. From our amazing neighbors, to a group of former co-workers, to B’s amazing family, to my best friend/MOH from high school and her amazing mom, to my incredible family, it was all the people who matter – just like our wedding will be one night with all the people who B and I love, and have seen us grow and become us.

The one game we played was called Who Am I? which allowed me to have a special moment to connect with everyone there, shower guests wrote a memory on a card, and Katie read them for me to guess who the memory was with!  I was definitely stumped a bunch, only because there were multiple shower guests at the same event/memory – but it was fun and funny to see what most people wrote about or remembered about me, (and maybe even a little embarrassing!).  The note cards will be a nice keepsake to have as part of our wedding memories!
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I’m just grateful for all of the love, plus the shower wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be (the attention, and being on display opening presents!) … haha, I was a bit anti-shower for awhile.  It went so quick, that I wish I would’ve been able to socialize a bit more with everyone but I got hugs from everyone so that itself was a success!

I’ll be sharing part two featuring all the perfect details and decor, tomorrow!

Weekend Recap – #HappAllieKeverAfter

| The Bee Life

This past weekend we were lucky enough to celebrate one of my best girl’s wedding! Knowing A, every detail and part of this day was thought of and would be done to perfection.  Having been planning our weddings at the same time, it was fun to share in the little details, that we got to see come to life on the big day! And everything was perfectly executed and stunning, including the bride herself.  A’s dress, hair, and accessories were the perfect compliment to the day and reflection of her personality.

We celebrated their union in a full service Catholic ceremony, which led to an exit with bag pipes and bubbles, all cheering the happy couple!  From the church, we headed to the reception which was at A&K’s farm, their property was completely transformed into a stunning venue as the barn was suited for cocktail hour with wooden walk-ways leading through the barn, a two-tier deck, decorative seating, a string quartet, and tasty drinks and hors d’oeuvre.
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The reception tent was a stunning reveal, as we were some of the first people let inside, jaws were on the floor in awe. The focal point was this breathtaking chandelier, and the wood farm tables which lined the room. The tables were perfectly set and staged with florals and flatware. The band was playing a Frank Sinatra song as the remaining guests entered and found their seats.

A&K were introduced with their bridal party and led quickly into their first dance.  The rest of the festivities continued to kickoff as we were served dinner, which was all amazing, the evening continued to flow as dancing got started! It was great catching up with friends, their loved ones and stealing a few dances and moments with the bride and groom.  The best part of the night was seeing how happy A&K were, they were so incredibly happy and it was such a beautifully perfect night to kickoff their next chapter as husband and wife!

Cheers to A&K! Love you!

Latest Fashion Obsessions 07.17

| The Bee Life

This month’s latest obsessions is a fashion edition. Covering off on all my favorite summer pieces from the beach, to the patio, to a wedding!  Let’s face it, that is pretty much what the whole summer is about, and your wardrobe can never have enough options for any of those occasions!
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For the Beach:  My must have is high-waisted bikini bottoms! A little over a year ago, these were hard to find, now you can find them almost everywhere! From Target, to Old Navy to Athleta, the prints and options are endless and adorable!  Since my beach bod has been a work in progress, this is a cute way for me to feel more confident and comfortable!  Not to mention everything is on SALE right now! Stock-up!

For the Patio: For the cool summer nights I’ve been loving a pair of mid-rise jean shorts paired with a flowy long sleeve shirt or sweater.  It’s perfect for a low-key night with friends sitting around the fire, sipping on a tasty beverage and listening to some good tunes.

For the Wedding:  I first fell in love with Jessakae on Pinterest when I saw these gorgeous floral printed dressed.  Although, like most clothing pins on Pinterest, the links never work but I decided to click, and to my surprise the link worked! I’ve bought three dresses off Jessakae, they arrive quickly, the fabric is incredible soft and light and they’re great for casual events or to dress up with heels and a nice hair style. They also offer tops, bottoms, and cute shoes!

There is still plenty of summer left to stock your wardrobe with all these essentials, I know I have been!

Image Sources: Top Left || Top Right || Bottom Left || Bottom Right

Weddings: Creating Your Sweetheart Table

| The Bee Life

One trend that seems to be increasingly popular is the idea of a sweetheart table for the bride and groom. I’ve read a few articles about the pros and cons of having a sweetheart table, and I am sure each bride and groom have their own reasons. For us, it’s simple. We have a small bridal party, and I think it would silly to make them sit without their sig-o’s at a table! Plus I love the idea of B and I having our own intimate spot to sit together and watch the magic of our wedding unfold.

And since we’re doing a sweetheart table, I wanted to do it right, which means pulling in the key elements to really make a statement with our table. Those key pieces to help make your sweetheart table standout are; the chair(s), floral accents, pop of personalization, and placement. Creating Sweetheart Table - the bee lifeThe Chair: Consider a furniture rental vendor that has awesome vintage chairs or a bold settee, these will stand out from the rest of your chairs in the venue signifying these are for the bride and groom.

Floral Accents: My personal favorite for a sweetheart table is a garland floral arrangement. This adds texture and depth to your table, while also calling it to be different from the rest of the tables.  Also consider bold arrangements that could be placed along side the tables or back flanking the space.

Pop of Personalization: The go-to seems to be adding Mr. & Mrs. on top of the table or a sign hanging from the back of the chairs. But consider other meaning full words that might be used or even using the initial of your new last name to make a bold pop.

Placement: When considering all of these elements for your sweetheart table, think about where this will be – if you’re going to have signs on the back of your chairs, will your chairs be in a place that others will be able to view and admire? Is a floral arch behind your table going to flow with the space or look out of place?  You can also work to make your sweetheart table to be the focal point of the venue if it’s lack luster our outdoors.

Pulling these key elements together will create a special place for you and your groom to dine to enjoy your first meal as husband and wife! Happy planning!

Image Source Inspiration: Top Left | Top Right | Bottom Left | Bottom Right

TBT – #CoakleyEverAfter

| The Bee Life

This Throwback Thursday is all about my bestie, and the day she married Travis.  As their first anniversary quickly approaches (this Sunday!) I wanted to take a walk down memory lane and share some pictures that weren’t shared last year on #CoakleyEverAfter – Part 1 and #CoakleyEverAfter – Part 2! All the events leading up to the big day, were amazing from the bridal shower to the bachelorette party, to weekends planning and prepping centerpieces.  And then the wedding, it was so beautiful and perfect, because it was my best friend’s wedding.  I’m so lucky to have been so involved and closely by Katie’s side the whole day! I can’t wait for her to do the same on my wedding.
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Happy first Anniversary Katie & Travis!

Some photos included are by: Iburi Photography