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Head on over to thebrideandherbestie.com for the continuation of our exciting planning!

The Binder!

One of the most important things a bride must do is set up her wedding binder. My binder became my best friend during wedding planning. It was constantly with me, just in case I needed it. I still have it in perfect order...just in case my bestie needs to refer to it. Joanna has chosen to use a Russel+Hazel binder with the Better Homes and Garden's downloadable planner. I recommend having a paper planner but also consider using an online planner like the ones offered through Martha Stewart or The Knot. Each planner is a little different so find one that fits your needs. With an organized binder you'll save yourself a lot of stressing.

Image from Russel+Hazel.

Color Combo: Yellow and Grey

While Joanna deals with all the details of vendors and location, I'm searching for inspiration for the color, flowers and all the fun little details.

Ever since my friend Stephanie of Tunnel Photography shot these amazing yellow shoes at a wedding this summer, I have been obsessed with yellow! So much so, I bought these shoes (thanks Nordstroms)! Anyways, grey and yellow has been a hot color not only in fashion but in home decor too. But I also think it make a chic and unique wedding color scheme.


The Breakdown: Bridesmaids Dress JCrew; Shoes shot by Tunnel Photography; Amy Butler Fabric; Invite from Minted Invitations; Lemon Centerpiece from the Knot.

The Great Reception Search

Last night, Brad and I were sitting side-by-side with our laptops, researching potential reception locations. It was like dueling pianos, except we were both showcasing our Google savvy. (For the record, Brad was a much more successful searcher than I was, but only because I got distracted by daydreaming about a reception at Jasper Winery, which is way too small for us. Booooo.)

Today, my task is to contact potential venues. I had no idea what kind of questions to be asking, so I asked my bestie (of course), who gave me these questions for starters:

• What's the room's maximum seating capacity?
• Do you have our date available?
• What rental fees are usually associated with a wedding reception? (Brad and I discovered last night during our research that the price quoted doesn't usually include random fees for things like an off-duty police officer (no joke), clean up, that kind of thing--better to pry now than be shocked later when we get the bill.)
• Do you work with or recommend a specific caterer?

Those questions should get us off on the right foot and we'll ask about the details later.

image courtesy of Jasper Winery, the reception venue of my dreams

We've Got a When and Where

The day after we got engaged, I called Brad's church to see if we could be married there. He's a member, but I'm not, even though I've attended with him since we've started dating. Before we contacted the church, Brad and I discussed these questions:

• Is it important to us to have a church wedding? (we both said YES!)
• What kind of look do we want? My church is nondenominational and has a more modern building. We both decided we wanted the look of a traditional sanctuary with the stained glass, pews, altar, etc.
  
• How many people were we expecting? My church isn't big enough to hold the number of guests we're estimating will come.

Our answers to these questions made our location choice easy: Let's get married at Gloria Dei! Brad and I already knew we wanted to get married in May or June, so I called them and they said they had one open date left in those months: May 16. After checking with our families to make sure no one was graduating, leaving the country, or expecting a baby that week, we went ahead and took the spot. We still have to meet with the pastor to see if we can bring another pastor in to perform the ceremony, but we're planning on May 16 either way.

One big thing down...only several more big things to go.

image courtesy of Gloria Dei

The Proposal

Let me preface this by saying I had no idea about "Operation Bling," and only found out afterward. Or, as Brad put it, "There are a feeeeeeeew other people who knew this was coming."

Brad and I go for a walk together almost every night, so when he asked me Thursday if I could get off work a little early so we could walk while it was still light out, I didn't think anything of it. We went to a trail that's surrounded by woods, but still in the middle of the city. Brad had a knee injury back in March and this was the trail where he had started to run again for the first time just a few days earlier in the week, so when he kept saying, "I have a favorite spot I want to show you," I thought he just meant the spot where he started running.

But instead, it was a footbridge that goes over a creek in the park. We stopped on top of it to look over the water and he started talking about how great I was and how this spot was kind of like our relationship because it was hidden away from other people, just us, safe and beautiful. Plus, we've gone on walks everywhere we've traveled (Colorado, Hawaii, Davenport, St. Louis), so it just felt like us. I still had no idea what was going on since he says really sweet things like that a lot. So I was just like, "Oh Brad, you're so sweet, I love you so much."

Then he said, "I have something else I want to show you but I need you to close your eyes." I STILL didn't know what was going on at this point, so I just laughed and closed my eyes. He was holding onto my hand so I felt him kneel down and then I finally realized what was happening. I opened my eyes and he said, "Wait, close your eyes!" (I guess he was still getting the ring out of his pocket.) So I was starting to cry and I had my hands over my face, and I remember thinking, "I have to remember every second of this." So I opened my eyes and he was down on one knee with the ring (which I didn't even really notice) and this HUGE smile on his face and he said, "Joanna, will you marry me?" and he could barely get the words out because he was smiling so hard. I said, "YES!!!" right away. Then "Are you serious???" because I was in so much shock. So we just held one another for probably almost 10 minutes, crying and laughing. Then he said, "Do you want to put the ring on?" Because I had completely forgotten about it. So he put it on and I started crying again.

Calling family and friends was so much fun!

Operation Bling!

Everyone has known for a while that Brad and Joanna were going to get engaged (I mean she texted me on their first date and said "I'm going to marry this man"), but the real question was WHEN?!? Joanna really wanted Brad to choose the ring but the other besties, Marie Elizabeth and Rachel and myself deciced that Joanna at least needed to try a few rings on. So after a trip for pedi's we forced Joanna to Joseph's so "we could get our rings cleaned." Joanna is simple therefore she gravitated to the simple rings...including a beautiful reverse tapered solitaire, with a round diamond. So Joanna...check...operation bling (as we began to call it) was well underway.

A few weeks later I hinted to Brad that if he needed any help with the ring, I would be there in an instant...plus I had an idea what she liked and the very important ring size. A few weeks later Brad facebooked me and we set up a time to meet and go over ring shopping 101. Since Joanna and Brad spend every moment together we had to distract Joanna so she wouldn't suspect a thing! Marie Elizabeth quickly jumped in, and invited Joanna over for "band practice" (haha long story). That night was very successful and Brad and I walked out of Joseph's as diamond experts. Brad did a little more research on his own, then decided to go with the first ring. The besties distracted Joanna again so Brad could make the big purchase. Then we were all on pins and needles waiting for the big day.

It was truly an honor to help in this process and I must say, Operation Bling was quite a success!