Wedding: Ceremony

Our ceremony was held in a huge and absolutely gorgeous old church. I knew I wanted a church wedding but we didn't have a church we belonged to so our hunt for the perfect one began. We checked out a few chapels which were either too far away from the reception site or not what we wanted. I got a lead on a local Lutheran church in the area that would do non-member weddings and I found this one. I loved it!!

Gorgeous, right?!

The ceremony was very traditional, just like we are. I had my father and step-father walk me down the aisle. They are both very important to me so there is no way I would do it any different. Our music was played on the piano and violin by my step-grandma (is that a thing? It is now) and one of her friends. I've grown up listening to her play piano and even had her accompany me at a few music  competitions in high school so it only felt natural to have her be apart of the ceremony doing what she does best. The whole ceremony went smoothly (it even started on time) other then a few hiccups caused by nerves and the fact that our Pastor didn't say "you may now kiss the bride" {more on that later}. I will remember every moment & am so happy to be a Mrs!!

All photos were taken by Shannon @ PeoplePaperPrints

Wedding: The Attire

One thing I had planned for last month was to do a weeks worth of posts about our wedding during the week of our anniversary. Unfortunately, life got in the way and made that an impossible feat. I decided it's better late then never and who doesn't LOVE reading wedding posts?! I know I do! 

What better way to start this post then with the dress? It's one of the first things many brides search for and it typically sets the tone of the wedding. Once I found my dress, everything else fell into place. I decided what the bridesmaids & groomsmen would wear and exactly what I wanted for flowers and decor after I found my dress. Was I in love with my dress? Not completely. I WAS in love with the back of my dress. The deep scalloped back, the satin & crystal buttons going all the way down through the train, the chapel length train, the lace...Loved it all!!! The front, not so much. It didn't fit me like I wanted it to and I have heard this same thing from many brides with lace dresses.

Dress: Allure Style  8770

Veil: My something old. It was my aunt's veil.

Shoes: Walmart.com (old)- Yes, seriously. I was searching for pretty dyeable shoes for a decent price and I found these babies. They were perfect especially once dyed a bright yellow. 

Looking for bridesmaid dresses was much easier then my dress. I knew I didn't want something strapless (the girls appreciated that too) and, because my dress was lace, I didn't want satin. These dresses from David's Bridal were perfect!! The color was exactly what I wanted, they were comfortable, they had pockets (!!) and they can be worn again (2 of the girls already have). Their shoes I was able to purchase where I worked and they complemented the dresses well. The heel wasn't too high (a request from the BM's) and because my shoes were yellow, the steely grey was perfect. My brother was my Man of Honor so coming up with what he was going to wear was a little more difficult. I wanted him to match the girls but I also needed the other groomsmen to coordinate as well. We went with a yellow tie & vest for him (and I added his awesome argyle socks) and the groomsmen had yellow ties & a grey vest. 

 Our bridal party was awesome. Considering that hubs & I are quieter people, our friends are rowdy but that makes them the greatest friends ever!

Dresses: Davids Bridal {style 83690}

Shoes: Nina (old)

Tuxes: Men's Warehouse 

All photos were taken by the lovely Shannon @ PeoplePaperPrints!

{30 Before 30}

Happy Monday!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful, long holiday weekend!!!! We enjoyed ours and spent the whole weekend having tons of fun with family and relaxing. :)


During my full month off of blogging, I had plenty of time to think about what I could blog about.  One thing I have learned now that I have been blogging is that it is kind of intimidating. What to write about, is it good enough, how much personal stuff should I share, how can I get more followers asap?! There is just so much to learn and telling myself that I need to blog as much as possible makes blogging no fun, so I decided to not put a ton of pressure on myself to blog everyday.


This 30 before 30 list is a list I have read on other blogs and is something I really wanted to challenge myself to do. Over the last few weeks I have been making my own list and have discovered that it is HARD. Coming up with 30 things to do before I am 30 turned out to be way more difficult then I could have imagined. I'm still not totally 100% on everything but I am pretty happy with it and I'm excited to start working on it!


1. Hike Devil's Lake {here}- It's a gorgeous lake/state park in southern Wisconsin.
2. Go to Italy- Hubs & I love to travel and our first stop in Europe will be here.
3. Snorkel with the sea turtles & zip line in Tulum, MX- I've only heard rave reviews about doing this. Plus, my fav animal is a turtle...why? I have no idea, they just are.
4. Run the Color Run 5K {here}- The happiest 5k on the planet? Of course!
5. Run the Bellin 10K {here}
6. Run a half marathon
7. Pay for the person behind me in the drive-thru
8. Sleep under the stars
9. Get my cupcake business going
10. Go to Las Vegas, NV
11. Watch the Brewers play the Red Sox at Fenway Park {here}- Hubs has already been here but being a big baseball fan myself, I really want to go too!
12. See Michael Buble in concert {here}- Our first dance song at our wedding was to a Michael Buble song. :)
13. Go to New York, NY
14. Learn to golf.- Hubby's favorite thing to do so of course I need to learn. :)
15. Go to a restaurant and just order dessert.
16. Successfully make a soufflé
17. Take a cake decorating class and decorate a cake using fondant
18. Go skiing in Lake Tahoe, CA- We have family who lives here and I have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to ski.
19. Do a boudoir photo session {here}- What women doesn't want to look and feel beautiful and what better way to capture it forever?
20. Take a graphic & web design class
21. Get my whole house (outside included) decorated/designed exactly how I want it (and blog about it!)
22. Swim with dolphins- Something I have wanted to do forever.
23. Get dressed up and ring in the new year in Milwaukee with my closest friends.
24. Turn a vintage camper into a mobile cupcake shop & boutique
25. Go to Disney World- Hoping to get this done before I turn 30. It will still count if its done a month or 2 after right?! My boys will be the perfect age at that point!
26. Go to Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells {here}-I was there once a LONG time ago but was too small to do the fun stuff (sad face) So I really need to go again.
27. Take ballroom dancing classes with my Hubby- We were supposed to do this before our wedding but ran out of time and it is still something we talk about doing together!
28. Go tubing down the Wolf River- It seems like it's the thing to do here in WI and I've never been.
29. Visit a fortune teller/palm reader- I really want to know what they would say and if it would actually happen!
30. Participate in Operation Beautiful {here}

 

*Follow me on Bloglovin!!!*

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!!!

 

I hope everyone is enjoying this day safely with family, friends, games, good food {adult beverages} and fireworks!! Here are a few of my favorite things to celebrate the 4th with...

Everyone needs an adorable red, white, and blue outfit! I'm loving crop tops {worn correctly}, skirts, and flat sandals.

 

 

 

Seriously, who doesn't love fireworks?!

 

 

 

This picture made me laugh but its so perfect. Ridiculous outfit and grilling yummy food.

 

 

 

 

A delicious beverage like this one here.

 

 

 

 

Make sure you follow me on Bloglovin'!! I have lots of fun posts planned for the month!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Greek Feta Pasta Salad

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I have some of the best memories from my childhood during this holiday. We always went down to the lakeshore to my Grandmother's house and would watch the parade, eat burgers & hotdogs, have water fights, and then at dusk we would make our way to the lake to watch the fireworks. I LOVE fireworks...I think me saying I love them is an understatement...I'm completely obsessed. The 4th just isn't the 4th without them.



I wanted to share one of my all time favorite pasta salads with you and it is perfect for a 4th celebration. The first time I had it was at our Macy's marketplace. It was a little restaurant with frozen yogurt, chocolates and the most amazing pasta salads. They closed  the marketplace last year {sad face} and I made sure I got a few recipes from them before they shut down and I would have to go the rest of my life without this salad.

 

Greek Feta Pasta Salad

Adapted From Macy's Marketplace

1 Box (16oz) medium shell pasta (uncooked)
1 cup crumbled Feta
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 cup chopped celery (cut into 1/2in chunks)
1 cup sliced black olives
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup Italian dressing
1 Tbls Oregano
1 Tbls black pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes

1. Cook pasta as directed on package for al dente.

2. In a large bowl, combine cheeses, celery and olives.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together mayo, dressing, oregano, and pepper until well combined.

4. Add dressing mixture to cheese/vegetable mixture, then toss gently with pasta.

5. Chill  until ready to serve (at least 2 hours). Add tomatoes just before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings

Tips:
I always add more vegetables then the recipe asks for. I just think it is better that way because who doesn't love veggies.

DO NOT use Miracle Whip. I tried it once because it was all I had in the house and I didn't want to go to the store, just trust me and don't do it.