Where to start...???

You just got engaged and you have NO CLUE what to do after he puts that ring on your finger. Have no fear, Lauren is here (don't roll your eyes- it's supposed to be funny)! As I have said before, I only consider myself an expert on the topic of weddings because I am currently in the process of planning my own. I have just been through all of this, and am still going through it!


Some advice before we start:
1. Try to not get annoyed with everyone around you. They will all start to get on your nerves. Just take a chill pill and concentrate on the task at hand.


2. Give your mom something to do. My mom asks every other day "what can I do what can I do". She is trying to be very hands-off and let me make most of the decisions, and I love her for that, but then she doesn't feel like she is "a part" of the process. Give her one task a week and she will be happy.


3. Make your man do something. I give Cory a list every week. Sure he may have two things to do while I have eight, but it still helps, will take the stress off of you, and will make the process more about the two of you, and not just about you (Who am I kidding?! it is alllllll about the B-R-I-D-E) :]


4. Short engagement? You can do it! We are having a 6-month engagement. I will have a blog posting later to come about short engagements, so stick around. Also, email me if you have specific questions! Lebyrne3@gmail.com


5. Don't take everyone with you to every appointment. The smaller amount of people, the better. Just trust me on that one. Goes for dress shopping as well!


6. Talk to friends and acquaintances who are in the process of planning their wedding or have gotten married in the past few years. Ask them about their vendors. They may be able to put you in contact with your future florist, and they might have some great advice for your big day.


7. Do not buy a $45 wedding binder. I repeat! Do not buy a $45 wedding binder! Go to borders, write down the different sections that are in one of those binders. Go to Target. Spend less that $10 and make your own wedding binder.


8. Marriage counseling. Just do it.


9. Get a wedding etiquette book. You don't have to purchase one- you can rent one from your local library.


10. Make your dad go to an appointment with you. If he wants to be super involved and go to all of the appointments, then you can decide what ones to bring him to. It will be a special moment. Was for me at least.






That's all the advice I have for now, but there is still a lot more from where that came from! Now, you really just need to know where to start-


1. BUDGET. You must figure out your budget before you do anything. How can you start dress shopping if you don't know if you can spend $500 or $7000?


2. When do you want to get married? Decide on a season, then decide on a year, then pick out 4 different weekends. You will need a few different dates to choose from if you are having a short engagement or if the venues you are looking at are popular


3. Start gathering information about different venues for the ceremony and reception. Search online and talk to friends. Think outside the box! For example, try a local winery and ask them if there are any vineyards in town.


--- Once you have the date and the venue everything will start to fall into place. I had a few married friends say that to me, and at the time I was stressing out and being a crazy bride. But, they were right. Everything was easier after the date and venue were set.




Read my next blog post to see what to do next! As always, email me Lebyrne3@gmail.com, leave a comment, and follow me on twitter @laurenbyrne3

She got them cakes!

This post is titled in honor of a dear friend, Sarah Phinney. Hey girl! We would blast the song Cakes in the newsroom at Ball State, and the line is from the song.


We all love food. And, I love food even more when it has lots and lots of sugar in it! Here you go, sweet tooth :] 


I usually don't share my ideas for my own wedding, but I am making an exception for this post. Here are some pictures that I am using for inspiration for my big day!


I found these on random websites. If you would like to know where I found a picture, let me know!

Don't you just love this idea- a dessert table!

DRESSES DRESSES DRESSES!

Hello, family! I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted anything new. Those who are in college understand why I have been too busy. 


Here are some fun dress ideas- everything from the MOB to the flower girl.


Hold on tight...this is about to be a post FULL of lots of pictures and lots of content! Enjoy!


First, some delicious pictures of dresses worn by celebs on the red carpet. Do you think a bride could pull off one of these on her big day? I like the last one for a reception dress. Maybe I am just biased because I LOVE Rachel McAdams. Thanks to @OneWed for these amazing finds! To see who makes the gowns, go here!

Ow Owww Owwww! Check out these hot hot hot bridesmaid dresses. Here is @theknottybride blog post. Loving these colors! The second red one is my fav!

Check out these absolutely b-e-a-utiful dresses- with sleeves! If you are going for a more conservative look, these could be inspirational for you! I found these dresses thanks to @weddingpr. Go here for more wonderful dresses!

Finishing out this section with the most recent most popular dress with sleeves. I love this. CLASSY BRIDE!

More pictures from a real wedding! My favorite :] The pictures from this wedding are TO DIE FOR. You have to click here to see more. Looks like it was a super fun ceremony. Anyway, check out these rainbow-colored dresses. What do you guys think? It's a cool way to make each bridesmaid look different. Props to @grnweddingshoes !

Get out of town! Check out these adorable flower girl dresses. I found these myself on the J.Crew wedding site. Click here for more cute dresses! So glad I found these- I think one of them might be my flower girl's dress!

And now for some MOB (Mother of Bride) or MOG (Mother of Groom) dresses. Nordstom has some great ones that don't look like the stereotypical "Mother" dresses. Here are a few that caught my eye!

DIY OVERLOAD!

Some fabulous ways to make your wedding more DIY! Check out these awesome finds:


1. Handmade wedding favors. My man and I still aren't sure what we are going to give out as wedding favors, but it has to be something that is relatively inexpensive. Being on a budget, I think a DIY wedding favor is just the ticket. Here is a cute idea from @ruffledblog - bath salts! Here are a few pictures and the list of what you will need. Visit the website for instructions!

What about this- handmade groomsmen gifts! Another place where, if you need to watch the budget, this is a great place where you can get creative. Found this idea thanks to @Emmalinebride. For more information and these ideas, and to see other great ideas, go here.

Now for some fun pictures from an actual wedding- This bride used her love of DIY to create her perfect wedding. Found the pictures thanks to Style Me Pretty - there are more pictures if you click the link!

ATTENTION - NAUTICAL WEDDING!!!!! For those of you who know me, you know that I am all about anything and everything nautical. It was only natural of me to get super excited when I saw that @oh_lovely_day tweeted about a "Pretty Preppy DIY" wedding. You know I am about to show you a bunch of pictures. Go here for many more! LOVE IT!

Now that you are on DIY overload, I will leave you with a guide to some things that you can DIY for your wedding. Found thanks to OneWed. Find the rest of the list by clicking the link!

Dear wedding pictures, I am addicted to you.

We live in a visual world. We love instant gratification. So, to instantly gratify all of you visual wedding needs for the day, here are some simply awesome pictures from real weddings! Pictures like this are where I have gotten many of my ideas for my own wedding. 


To start off, a wedding from the best state-  Indiana!!! Found this thanks to a tweet by @stylemepretty. As always, more pictures can be found here.

A beautiful Utah winter wedding, thanks to Style Me Pretty.

It's safe to say that Style Me Pretty is one of my favorite wedding sites. Here are some pictures I found on from their website from a beautiful Mexico wedding.

Check out this yellow color palette - love! Found at Green Wedding Shoes.