Hallelujah! The England Recap Post

Hello blog world!

Finally, I am making time to do this. I'm ashamed that I haven't for the past couple weeks. I had an amazing trip to England, so it was difficult to say the least to choose just a hand full of pictures. I put it off while I jumped full force back into my internship while traveling back and forth to Charleston to get my apartment ready with my lovely roommates. Friday was my last day working for the Open Land Trust after working there for three summers! I'm going to miss everyone so much! My boss, Ann is literally the best mentor and role model ever. I only hope that I can find such an amazing internship in Charleston next summer--but I'm very optimistic :)

Anyways, back to my trip to England!

Of course we were there to relax and visit family. But one of the biggest reasons we were there was to meet my gorgeous baby niece (my third!), Kitty Alexandra.

adorable.

Meeting this sweet, little girl made my whole trip.

The second big reason for our trip was for my oldest sister, Lisa's wedding to her fiancé, Andrew! It was a small civil ceremony of 80 guests in the historic library of Dulwich College, a very prestigious British boys prep school.

very Harry Potter-esque, right?

My sissy planned the whole wedding herself, which I thought was very impressive. It was a very intimate and elegant affair.

This is my favorite picture of the beautiful bride

 My two older nieces (Meghan and Jessica) along with Andrew's niece were Lisa's flower girls. I was absolutely obsessed with Lisa's choice of color palette, which included glistening champagne and ivory with a pop of royal blue. 

the bouquets were rustic, yet sophisticated.

Lisa looked absolutely stunning in her ivory, handmade tea-length gown. She and Andrew were beaming. It was a truly beautiful ceremony. I was honored when Lisa asked me to read a passage during the ceremony. Being the Communications major that I am, I was more than confident with my public speaking abilities. After making it half way through the passage I looked over at Lisa and Andrew and saw how happy they were, and got completely choked up! I was so embarrassed, but the emotion was very sincere, so I couldn't be too mortified. After I took my seat my nieces were honestly very confused to see me crying. They kept patting my back and saying it was ok..so cute!

Here's a quick shot of what the sisters of the bride wore!

And a shot of all three girls with the father of the bride

...and let's not forget this precious baby!

 After the bride and groom made their exit, we made our way to the reception which was down the street in a very British pub called The Crown and Greyhound. We used the reception hall upstairs, where we wined and dined on the ultimate British fare. Guests were served Pims cocktails garnished with lots of fresh fruit with hors d'oeuvres, including this extraordinary creation...

 a pork pie inscribed with the bride and groom's names! (the pub did this without telling them, ha!)

Then tea was served! It was a traditional "cream tea", which consists of English, hot tea served with golden scones, clotted cream and jam. Tea time is one of my absolute favorite things about England.  A forth meal during the day dedicated to sweets? I'll take it. 

This is actually a picture I took of another tea time during our trip, but it was too perfect for this post.

After tea had been served, as we nibbled on our scones, it was time for the toasts. Flutes of champagne were passed around while my dear dad paid tribute to his oldest. Anyone who knows him also knows how loud and outgoing he is! But when it comes to his daughters, I think he gets a little nervous :) Despite his nerves, he graciously led the reception in toasting to the newly weds.

And finally, cake was served! The cake was made by one of Andrew's closest friends and it was handcrafted with such exquisite detail! It was light, delicious and perfect for this summer wedding.

Keeping with British tradition, Andrew and Lisa cut the cake with her grandfather's sword. I love this tradition--taking notes for my future wedding :)

 The wedding was such a beautiful event--full of so much love. It was also a great reason for our family to all come together, which isn't easy when you live on different continents!

So cheers to Andrew and Lisa!

Until next post...

...and The Wedding!

I'm on a roll tonight! While I'm at this whole blog thing, I decided to tell you all about Ben and Jill's beautiful wedding!

Despite my car (R.I.P. Ford Escort) breaking down on i-16 and eventually meeting its death, and two-hour hiatus in McDonalds with all my luggage, I finally met up with Hunter and his parents who took me the rest of the way to Hunter's hometown right outside of Atlanta.

The wedding was on a gorgeous, lush farm in the country side. I hope Jill got a picture by one of the rustic fences in her cascading, white dress! What a perfect background for a classic, Southern wedding.

Sadly, it rained during the ceremony, which was supposed to be outside under a ivy-covered arbor, but they had a rain plan! The wedding was quickly moved inside to the finished barn where the reception also took place.

 I know Jill and Ben were sad to see it rain, but I can say that the joining together of these two love birds (of 10 years, I might add!) was truly a sight to see. 

They had an evening ceremony followed by a dessert reception (my get-fit plan was put on hold this weekend!) The color palette was black, white with an accent color of light pink, and was found in even the smallest details of the wedding decor! Jill and her family hand-made everything from the invitations to the delectable, bite-size desserts.

note: the wedding favors included a personalized CD of Ben and Jill's favorite love songs and a book of matches that held the sparklers that we lit for their departure!

 yum!

One of my favorite parts of the wedding design, was the cake. Jill's oldest sister, Ana made and decorated the cake and it was incredible. The cake was delicious, and every rose was frosted to perfection.

 (missing the top tier in this picture!)

The couple had their first dance to Frank Sinatra before the dance floor was opened to guests!

And I just couldn't resist snapping a quick picture of the adorable flower girl! 

Hunter and I after a little dancing (my heels were killing me.)

As the night began to wind down, the groom threw the garter and the bride threw the ceremonial bouquet (you all know what catching the bouquet is supposed to mean...)

 drum roll please...

...I caught the bouquet!

 I walked over to Hunter with a smirk on my face and he said "Don't even think about it!" The funny thing was, the reason was happy was because I knew it would be perfect for the blog!

The wedding was a night to remember, and I know the bride and groom were beaming as they rode away into the night in their getaway Rolls Royce. 

Congratulations Ben and Jill!

Can't Wait for the Weekend!

It is super late (almost 2 AM to be exact) but I had to share this quick thought.

I would like to fast-forward through the next two days of work, and get to the weekend.

Reason 1: Get to see my honey.
Reason 2: Get to read my magazines in the car on the trip to ATL.
Reason 3: Get to attend a wedding, which I can say is probably one of my favorite things to do.

Hunter's best friend from high school is getting MARRIED. I'm beyond excited for our lovely friends, Ben and Jill. I met Ben and Jill over this past Christmas, and we all clicked instantly! They are one of those couples who you can tell are just meant for each other. And I cannot wait to go to their wedding.  This will also be the first time I've been to Hunter's hometown (Hunter's parents moved away from Georgia after Hunter's freshman year at university).

I will be sure to charge up my camera, because this is going to be quite the summer weekend!

Pictures and detailed description of the wedding to come (as long as Jill approves!)

Day 2

Hello everyone (or Hunter as soon as he becomes my first follower!),

I think I was expecting to have 100 followers as soon as I created this blog, but instead I'm going to have to be begging my loved ones to follow me or at least pretend to for a while, and I'm coming to terms with that.

Today I spent a lazy day at home, and I am still ignoring the piles of unpacked bags that I brought back from college 2 days ago. I should really get on that, but it's quite an undertaking. I think it's about that time for me to be doing a big spring..well summer cleaning. I need to go through my closet and PURGE it. So I can make room for the new things I plan to find at cute yard sales and thrift stores for my little house and closet for next year. I'm living with five (yes, five) other girls in a beautiful historic house in Charleston, South Carolina. I'm beyond excited for it!

I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself I should probably tell you a few things about myself:

• My mother is a wonderful, British lady and my father is a Kenya-born retired British Army man. And I was born in South-Williamson, Kentucky a little after they emigrated to America. Yay for first-generation Americans!
• We moved to beautiful Beaufort, South Carolina when I was a year and a half and I lived there until I was 18 years old.
• I have two older sisters, one who lives in Indiana, and the other in London. I also have three, absolutely beautiful nieces. I couldn't be a prouder Auntie!
• I stayed in the South, choosing to pursue an undergraduate degree at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, and I cannot get enough of the city. Hands down best place to live. A cosmopolitan city that maintains its Southern charm AND is right on the beach, doesn't get much better.
• I am studying Communication and minoring in Hospitality and Tourism, in hopes of becoming an event planner, specifically weddings.
• I became a tour guide at the College, because I love it so much and I can't resist anything that involves talking to new people. 
• I have some of the best friends someone could ask for, most of them stayed close, but one special gal moved to Pittsburgh. Separation anxiety is an understatement. 
• Oh yeah, I knew I was forgetting someone. I have a wonderful boyfriend of almost two years (if you count all the courting and what not) and his name is Hunter. We've also been long distance for the majority of that time, and it has been one of the most amazing, as well as difficult experiences of my life thus far, but in July we will be long distance no more! He's going to grad school in Charleston. With this guy, things always seem to fall into place. I couldn't be luckier. 
• I'm back in Beaufort for the summer working at my town's land conservation organization, and plan on spending my days reading Charleston Wedding magazine out in the sun, trying my hand at cooking and getting this blog up and running. Oh and a two-week trip to England to meet my newest niece and attend my sister's wedding! 

It should be quite a summer, and I'm so ready to see what the rest of this year brings me. I hope you guys will enjoy being along for the ride!

Here are a few pictures just in case you are curious:

And that's all for this post! Can't wait for my next, I can feel a blogging obsession forming...