New Outlook on Life and My Prince Charming

Manolo Blaknik's: What I hope to wear on my wedding day

Over a year ago I wrote a blog post entitled, "My Preppy Southern Wedding."  While I do love the south and I do love preppy clothing such as J.Crew (preppy with a twist) and Lilly Pulitzer, I no longer want my wedding to reflect a Lilly Pulitzer summer magazine or the typical cute Pintrest wedding. In my opinion, if someone comments on your wedding and related it to Pintrest then you have failed as a bride.  While Pintrest is literally fantastic and I love it as much as the next woman, I feel that your wedding should not reflect all things Pintrest and DIY.

No that I have met the man I someday hope to marry my dream wedding has changed.  A bride or future bride must always remember that the wedding day is not about her, but rather it is about the joining together of two people that love each other very much and are committing their lives to one another.  Therefore, because the wedding day is about both the bride AND the groom the big day should reflect both of them. Because I have a new vision in my head I would like to share it with y'all. I hope you enjoy!

Lets begin with the rehearsal dinner!  The rehearsal I imagine will take place at a church in Atlanta, Georgia (where I hope to live after graduation) where we will prep for the big ceremony the following evening. Where the rehearsal dinner is to take place is TBD because the grooms parents pay for that event. But the evening will be filled with lots of laughter and happy tears as we are surrounded by close friends and family.

The morning of the wedding I anticipate going to Starbucks and having Bride written on my cup! Call me a basic bitch all you want but I want a picture of me with my Bride Starbucks cup.  I plan on spending the morning and afternoon getting ready with my mother and my four bridesmaids.  While we are getting all glammed up for the wedding ceremony me and my four bridesmaids will be wearing over-sized white men's button downs with our initials in light pink. That is on aspect from my previous post that has not changed.

These shirts are so adorable and the girls would want to wear them again.

Once it's time for my fabulous four to get dressed, I will have chosen a long, flowy, strapless light pink dress from J.Crew for them to wear.  I expect each girl to pair this gown with a nude or gold heal and for their jewelry, simple pearl studs.  J.Crew bridesmaid dresses are so classic and do not look like bridesmaid dresses which is what I love about them.  As for their bouquet, they will each carry light pink peonies (my favorite flower) with some green hydrangeas.

When it is finally time for me to put on my big white dress, I imagine that it will be an A-Line, sweet heart neckline gown with lace all over the gown.  Around the waist I want just a hint of embellishment to add a little sparkle. For my veil I plan on wearing my mothers which will be my something old and for my something blue I want to wear blue Manolo Blahnik shoes. My jewelry will be understated and I will either wear pearls or diamonds. I do not have a something new yet but I look forward to that surprise when this special day comes! As for my bouquet I plan on carrying light pink and white peonies.

Not exactly what I envision but very similar

When it is time for the big ceremony to begin I will be overjoyed with excitement.  As my fabulous four walk down the aisle I will be trying to get glimpses of my oh so handsome groom standing at the end.  When it's finally time for my daddy to walk me down the aisle, I envision walking down to Cannon in D (what my mother walked down to) and squeezing my father's arm as I try not to cry out of happiness and excitement as I look at the man I love so dearly. Just thinking about this moment now gives me goose bumps and makes me so excited!!!

Wedding Flowers and Colors

Once the vows have been taken and the groom has kissed the bride, the wedding guests will head over to a TBD location where we will all gather under a luxurious white tent.  Under this white tent, I imagine that wood floors will be placed down and chandeliers will hang from the top.  Our guests will enjoy some heavy hor' douvers while they enjoy all of the free alcohol and our signature cocktail. Because I want me wedding to be a party and for people to have a blast, I think there should be a DJ. I used to be so against DJ's at weddings but honestly it's the only way to get people up and dancing. Bands are spectacular but they do not appeal to everyone.  After a long night of dancing we will enjoy some delicious wedding cake and drive away in our old black Rolls Royce to take our honeymoon somewhere exotic.

This is the new version of my wedding and is a lot simpler then the last which is what I love about it. Hopefully, this dream wedding comes to fruition one day!

Be YOUrself

It is the end of my senior year and I cannot tell y'all how happy I am! I am so ready to graduate and move on with my life, out in the real world.  While I have loved my (almost) 4 years at Wofford it is time to say bye bye and for more reasons than one.  This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to intern at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia! I was the Decorative Arts intern as well as the Social Media intern.  During the summer I lived in a townhouse and was responsible for myself.  I had my own schedule and did what I pleased.  I noticed during my time in Atlanta that I was having the best time of my life (I did meet the love of my life) because for ONCE in my young life, I was not caring what other people thought of me!  Now, I was not getting wild and crazy or "acting a fool" because that's not my personality, but I owned my looks and the decisions I made.  Not only did I become a more confident person over the summer but I learned that I did not have to conform to the people around me.

Wofford is a very small college consisting of approximately 1,600 students. By the end of your four years you know everyone and you know all of their drama and business.  When I returned to Wofford in September for senior year, I had a very freeing experience.  I no longer cared what people thought of me.  I no longer had thoughts running through my head such as, "I wonder if people will think I'm strange for wearing this shirt?" or "I wonder what people are saying about me or what will they think of me if I do this or talk to this person?"  WHO CARES!!!!!! Be who you are!

Many of my girlfriends still struggle and ask themselves these questions and I shake my head at them and tell them that if they're happy then that is all that matters.  I have this tshirt with my favorite painting on it, and on the tshirt it says "So Fly" and I love it.  I wore it one day with oversize black sunglasses, jeans and my big faux  fur coat (I love fur).  When I was walking with my friend, she turned to me and said well you just don't give a sh## what people at this (very preppy) school think of you, do you? I looked at her and said no quite frankly I don't.  Being yourself is the best thing you can be.  I love fashion and more importantly, I love all clothes in general! I have many different styles that I pull from and that's okay because that's part of what makes me me.

It is my wish and prayer that more women in their early, middle, late twenties and older will embrace who they really are and not be a clone of what society or the environment they are placed in is telling them to be.  Being at Wofford for so long, I thought that only 'preppy' people were acceptable and knew how to dress.  From taking me out of my regular Wofford environment and placing me in Atlanta I was able to see the world from a different perspective.  When I came back to Wofford in the fall, I embraced the fashion-loving girl that I am.

Not caring so much about what other people think of you is the most freeing experience. I challenge you to care a little less about what others think and to embrace your true self. I promise you'll love the real YOU.