Happy Friday everyone!!
I hope everyone’s enjoying Amanda’s vacation photos. Despite a brief trip to the doctors, Amanda and Sebastian seem to be having the time of their lives. She’ll be back online next week with updates, but be sure to check out her Instagram to see what she’s up do!
I’m so excited about the weekend. I’m taking James to Palm Springs for his birthday!! I’ve never been to Palm Springs, but the people of LA seem to love it… thus, I will go. It’s going to be HOT, so I have plenty of shorts and maxi dresses to see me through the desert heat. Photos and a recap to come!
So, I may have overcommitted myself for the month of July. While trying to handle a birthday, a wedding, and two full-time jobs, James and I decided that we’re moving at the end of the month. Starting August 1st, we’re officially living together. Luckily, our new 2brd apartment is less than 200 feet from my current apartment. Sometime soon, I’ll write a big old post about how to move in with your S/O. We’ve been together for 4+ years, and despite spending considerable time with “living” with each other, this will be our first actual apartment as a couple. Amanda and Sebastian will be dealing with the big move-in upon their return to California, so I’m sure Amanda and I can share both of our takeaways from the process.
There’s also this big thing called our WEDDING on the horizon!!
While I was on the phone with my Dad this week, I realized that I’m leading a double life. I go to work and focus on projects and calendars and upcoming movies. Then, I come home and focus on what to feed my West Elm guests and when I’m going to send out my save the dates. It’s exhilarating… and exhausting. I keep thinking that the wedding is soooo farrrr awayyyyy. It is, and yet… it isn’t. Luckily, I have my parents to keep me grounded and focused. Even when I start to whirl into the oblivion that is bridesmaids dress options (ugh!) my parents snap me back to reality. Even though I’m only ankle-deep into this process, I already know that I couldn’t do it without them. James has been incredible as well. When I start to dive into Pinterest or hypothesize flight plans, James easily cuts through the noise and reminds me what we’re doing this all for. Bridesmaids dresses be damned, because this wedding is about getting to start our life, together.
That all being said, I AM actually enjoying this process. Thanks to our incredible venue, we have an on-site planner who taking over all of the vendor relations. This means that aside from the photographer (and any other vendors we choose to bring in) we really don’t have too much to do. At this point, here’s what we’ve collectively accomplished:
What we’ve already done (10 months away!)
- We have a date
- We have a venue [ La Samanna ]
- We have bridal parties and an ever-evolving guest list [we're using aisleplanner.com for the guest list, planning checklist, etc]
- We have tentative colors
- We have Save the Dates [Minhee Park of Paper+Cup]
- We took engagement photos [Tayler of Tayler Ernele photography]
James and I went to Malibu to take our engagement photos. I’m so happy to share the first preview with you all! If anyone has been through this process before, I’d love your feedback on what you found to be the most helpful, and what you would have changed along the way.
xo
E
It’s absolutely impossible for me to believe that we could be 5/6 of the way through our Grand European Excursion™, but here we are. I’ve just gotten around to doing some photo editing (hello, full SDcard!), so I thought I’d share a few outtakes from our trip. So far, we’ve explored London, Paris, Luxembourg, Bruges, Ghent, Random Towns in Germany, Rome, Florence, and Venice. We’re presently in Istanbul (what a city!), and in two days we’ll leave for Santorini. It’s been insane. It’s been wonderful, awe-inspiring, tough, grandiose and heartrending. I’m having the time of my life, and I never want it to end.
