Bloggin' Basics

By no means am I a professional at blogging, I'm actually still very new. I don't have a custom layout, I don't have cool pictures and by no means do I have a life interesting enough to consistently blog about, but I do it because I enjoy it. Whenever I plug a new post onto Facebook or Twitter, people always say " I've always wanted to blog, but I just don't know where to start" or "I don't really have anything to blog about". These 2 statements couldn't be farther from the truth. 1. The setup is extremely easy. 2. EVERYONE has something to say. No matter how boring you think your life is, I promise someone will find it interesting. And even if they don't, you aren't blogging for anyone else but yourself. Blogging can be a kind of therapy, it shouldn't be something you do just for others. With that being said, there are tons of great blogging websites, here's a few for starters:


BlogSpot or Blogger (same thing, this is what I'm using right now)
Bloglovin'
Tumblr ( a little weird, less formal way of blogging)
Xanga (yes, this still exists)


Most of these are pretty user friendly, just pick which one you'd like to house your blog. After you've chosen which site you'd like to use, you'll create an account. If you use Gmail, I'd suggest going with BlogSpot, because it's directly linked to Gmail and Google+, which makes it really easy to navigate to your blog. Next, you'll create a name for your blog. Make it fun, make it simple. Once you've done this, you'll most likely want to change the look of your blog. The website you choose will most likely have some templates you can play around with, but there are countless websites dedicated to making some really cool layouts. The website I'm using right now is The Cutest Blog on the Block. They have some really cute options. Once you've got the look, you can customize your blog with special links. If you want people to know more about you, I'd suggest an About Me page and maybe even links to other social networks like Twitter, Instagram, etc. Or if you want to remain completely private or anonymous you can do that, too. Once you've got it all set up, you're ready to blog.


Your first post can be about anything you'd like. This is your blog. You can post absolutely anything you want. If you want to dedicate your blog to cats with sweaters you can do that. If you want to have a One Direction fandom blog, you're allowed. Your blog is your oyster and you can write about anything your heart desires. Be creative, be fun and most of all, be honest.

How to Plan a Wedding in 2 Weeks (And not break the bank!)

Impossible, right? Think again, because it's totally possible.....IF (and that's a big one) you don't mind simple. 3 weeks ago, my lovely then-fiancé Tanner and I decided that a large, complicated, drawn out wedding with 150+ guests and engagement parties, bridal luncheons and the whole shebang just wasn't what we wanted. It wasn't us.


Now, before I continue, let me clarify that I love large weddings. I love all of the elaborate detail and decorating that goes into them, and the thoughtfulness of each event.  I love looking at the bridesmaids dresses and hair and jewelry and all of that. However, when it came to my own personal wedding, I just wanted it to be stress free and as easy as possible. I wanted it to be intimate, and I didn't want to have to worry about making sure that I spoke to each one of my 300 guests as well as lugging a big, white sack of tulle around. Although I may not seem like it, I'm actually pretty low-maintenance. Hard to believe, I know.


Anyway, so we'd planned to go to the beach this past weekend for Tanner's birthday. And we decided that it would be a perfect time for everyone to come down to Nags Head and watch us jump the broom, tie the knot, take the plunge, or whatever you wanna call it, provided that we could find a venue, get a caterer, hire a minister, invite everyone and hope they had no plans, get a dress, get flowers, centerpieces, a cake, hotel reservations, a DJ, photographer and transportation all in 14 days.




An accurate representation of how we felt the 2 weeks prior to the wedding...

Since the ceremony would be on the beach and would require little to no decorations, I decided to start with the venue for the reception. While browsing the web I stumbled upon a restaurant called Mulligan's, which is a raw oyster bar and grille, and also had a separate elevated covered porch for small receptions and dinner parties. PERFECT. I called and left a message, hoping and praying that they wouldn't be booked.  I heard back from Shannon, the catering director, the next day and she vowed to make it happen for us. Since it was off season for tourists, she gave me a major hook up, not charging me for the venue, but only for the food and tablecloths. She helped me pick out a menu, time, and anything else I had questions with.  As it grew closer to the time of the wedding, the weather forecast didn't look so great. On the day of, we made the call to hold the ceremony inside the same place as the reception and Shannon didn't even flinch when I told her. She is an angel and without her the wedding wouldn't have been possible.

An inside look at Mulligan's covered porch...

My favorite boys!
 

Next, we needed a minister. I thought it'd be much easier to get a minister from that area, because if we had any last minute changes they know the area and could adapt better than someone from out of town. This was not smart. Beach ministers are EXPENSIVE. We opted for a long time family friend who attends our church and is an ordained minister. It was much more personal that way.

 Cupcake Connoisseur....

And Ordained Minister

                                                      

Now, I needed a dress. After my family got over the shock of a wedding in what was now 13 days, we went into super wedding mode, especially my mom. SHE ROCKED. That Saturday we took a day trip to Raleigh with my grandma, aunt, and cousin and I bought the second dress I tried on. It was actually an Easter dress; short with lace sleeves. Perfect for a beach wedding, I thought. Dress? Check. And it was under $50.

As for the DJ, we had planned just to use Pandora, but Tanner's dad actually knew a DJ from the area. His name is Billy Rainey (sp?) and if you need someone in Eastern NC, I highly recommend him. He did a really great job, especially having never met any of us before. He even sang us a song! He had a great selection and range of music.

The only flowers we had were the ones in my bouquet, Tanner's boutonnière and my dad's boutonnière. Tanner's aunt, who can only be defined as FAB (her favorite word in the English-slang dictionary) really came through with those. They were simple, yet beautiful.

Calla lilies and Seashells

My mom's best friend, Tammy, had done some pictures of my brother and I for a surprise for my mom's birthday a few years ago, and since she was going to be at the wedding anyway I thought I'd offer her the chance to take pictures of the day also. As usual, she did an amazing job.  We also found these wooden props at Michael's Crafts for about $1.99 each. We painted them ourselves and I think they were a fun touch...I know of one little boy who really loved them.

Hotel rates were not too bad, because it was off-season. That cut a major expense. I would recommend asking for a block of rooms if you can estimate about how many you'll need. The hotel may give you a little discount.



Tanner's sister, Alli, recommended a cake decorator and boy, was she a hit. We opted for cupcakes and I sent her a picture of some that I found on Pinterest. They were delicious. And looked wonderful. I'm still thinking about them. Her name is Amy Sugg and she's based out of Winterville, NC. You can find her on Facebook.

Centerpieces - possibly the most time consuming part of the planning process. We chose some really simple ones (no surprise there), however trying to figure out how many tables we needed was a little tough. Luckily, we bought an extra of each thing, and it turned out that we had just enough for each table. Most of the supplies were purchased at Michaels craft store.



I'm sure there's something I left out, but I wanted to get this post up quickly so I wouldn't forget anything. I'd like to say a huge THANK YOU to each and every person who helped, even in the smallest of ways. Everyone who came made our special day even more special and we wouldn't have changed anything.

For more pics you can visit my Facebook page by clicking HERE