WEDDING PHOTOS ARE HERE! // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Oh man. So many feels looking back at this day! It was so hard to just choose a few to share, but these are my favorites. I'll be sharing some on Instagram as well, so be sure to follow me : @lpodlich

Big thanks to George of Ventouris Photography for capturing us so well- we loved spending our special day with you!! If you pin/share- please give credit to Ventouris Photography!

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I could post about 20 pictures of just Michael because he looked SO. DANG. GOOD. GAH.

 Walking down the steps at our resort after our first look:

Saying some vows...I kept inching closer and closer to him- the picture series of it is pretty hilarious:

Trying not to cry!

 Better view of our ceremony site- gorgeous terrace that jutted out into the sea!

 GAH.

 Alright from here on out we have a lot of pictures of us looking at each other. 90% of the photos we have are of that. OOPS.

 Walking around streets of Oia

 EVERYTHING HERE IS GORGEOUS!

 Seriously perfect sunset:

 ...that just kept getting better!

 Inside the caves at Canaves Oia 

 Crazy amazing sunset. GAH. TAKE ME BACK.

Now excuse me while I go look at all the other amazing photos and pretend we are back in Greece! GAH.

For more B&B Wedding Posts, go HERE.

For more more #BestulBrewBash photos, go HERE!

Which one is your favorite?

OBVIOUSLY mine is the one of just Michael ;-)

xo, laura

Q&A OF OUR "RUNAWAY" WEDDING // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Whoa. Between our trip abroad, our reception back home, Thanksgiving, going back to work, and now getting ready for the holidays- I have had zero time or bandwith to blog.
Getting back into it- because there is SO much to post about!
xo, laura

(photo credit: george ventouris photography)

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For those who haven't been following along with the B&B Wedding Series- let me do quick fill in on what you've missed:
Michael and I got engaged in May, and since we've been together for 7 years and have talked about marriage for most of those years, we knew we wanted a short engagement and a private wedding.
We'd been talking about taking a trip abroad to a couple places on our bucket list for a while, so the stars just kind of aligned to get married while on our trip. We planned a 2 week vacation to Italy and Greece in October- with the actual wedding being at the end of the trip, with just the two of us present (+ a photographer). We also planned a casual late night party/reception for a few weeks after we returned from our vacation so we could come back and celebrate with our family and friends.
So there you have it. Engaged May 12th. Married October 26th. Reception November 19th.
EFFICIENCY FOLKS, IT'S WHAT WE LIKE AROUND HERE. ;-)

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This post is HUGE because we've gotten so many questions about why we chose to do things the way we did- so grab a glass bottle of wine and dive in, folks. I'm going to break it down into parts answering them and hopefully it will all make sense! Also- because it wasn't a secret I got corrected by multiple people for using the term "elopement"...and "destination wedding" just didn't seem to fit- so for now I'm calling it "runaway". Deal with it and keep your comments to yourself if you don't like it PLZ. Thanks. xoxo.
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1. Why such a short engagement?
Short answer; We couldn't wait to be married to each other!
Long answer: Like I said, we've been together for a long time, and we've been talking about getting married for so long that once we got engaged, we were really excited to be married. Also, neither of us had an interest in a drawn out engagement since it wasn't necessary with the wedding plans we had. Unlike a lot of the weddings my friends planned, we didn't have to book a venue a year or more in advance. Kudos to them for their patience, because it is something I do NOT have!

2. Why get married abroad?
Short Answer: It seemed exciting, romantic, and practical to mix the wedding and the honeymoon all into 1 trip.
Long Answer: We have traveled a fair amount together in the USA, but never abroad together. We had been talking about a trip to Europe for a while, and it was just really exciting to us to have that first trip together there be our wedding/honeymoon!

3. Why Italy & Greece?
Short & Long Answer: They've been on our bucket lists forever, and they seemed like beautiful, romantic places to go!

4. Why get married alone, just the two of you? Why didn't others come with?
Short Answer: Because it's what we wanted.
Long Answer: Anyone who knows us well enough can tell you Michael and I are a pretty openly lovey-dovey couple. My sister can fully attest how eye-roll worthy we can be with our overly cutesy name calling and PDA. Shockingly, when it came to marriage, we both wanted to be really private. As much as we love sharing how much we love each other with everyone on a regular basis, there was something so serious about saying vows to each other that we wanted it to just be the two of us there. The idea of being 100% focused on each other and nothing else in a place that was new to us just .... fit. In addition to that, we wanted our day to be 100% us, 100% free of stress, 100% OURS. We felt like the more we opened up the marriage ceremony to more people and more factors, the more it would slip away from what we hoped it would be. We've been to so many weddings where the guests are complaining about SOMETHING. The food, the weather, the attire, the seating, the cost of travel, whatever. I take things personally, and I know if I had heard that on our special day, it would have really hurt my feelings and taken some joy out of that moment.

5. ...but what about your families? Weren't they mad they couldn't be there? Don't you feel selfish?
Short Answer: Sigh. You can ask them how they feel. And yes, we did feel a little selfish.
Long Answer: GAHHHHHH. This is the question we were asked so so much. Depending on the day/time/mood I got asked it, it affected me in a different way. Sometimes I was unfazed by it, sometimes I was annoyed, sometimes I felt sad, and sometimes I was downright pissed. It's hard to put into words without sounding rude, but at the end of the day,  we are the ones that have to be married to each other. This experience is 100% what we wanted, and at the end of the day, that ruled out the opinions of any friends or family we talked to.We went back and forth about it, but knew in our guts that if we compromised we might regret it. We love our parents a disgusting amount, and are lucky that they are understanding people that let us do our thing our way. Planning a big reception/party when we got back was our way of still showing everyone we loved them and wanted to have them be part of our marriage.

6. Do you guys not like traditional weddings? 
Short Answer: Not for us, but yes for other people!
Long Answer: We have been to some AMAZING weddings. Weddings that were small and huge and everywhere in between. Weddings in churches and barns and gardens and golf courses and beaches. We've gotten to witness our friends and family members get married and be so happy and dance the night away. We absolutely LOVE sharing in the joy of our friends, in whatever shape it may take. Just because a long-planned out wedding with a cake and first dances and table numbers wasn't what we chose to do for ourselves doesn't mean we don't love them for our friends. Sometimes when I've gotten this question it feels like a trap- that by saying we didn't want a "traditional" wedding we are crapping on our friends who did. Hopefully people get that weddings aren't one-size-fits-all by now!

7. So, how was it? Did it turn out like you planned?
Short Answer: AMAZING & YES.
Long Answer: Other than our wedding clothes that we shipped over getting stuck in Greek Customs (argggghhhhh), everything was awesome. The location was perfect, the staff were unbelievable, the photographer was hilarious, and the moment was exactly us. We said our vows, exchanged rings, kissed, and then couldn't stop grinning. :)

8. What was the best part? The worst?
The worst: Our stuff being stuck in Customs. THAT was a bill we didn't anticipate. Oy.
The best: Other than getting married (duh), the best part was once we finally finished taking photos and the sun was fully down- we went into a cave at our resort to have dinner. We sat there and rehashed the day while eating an insanely good meal and drinking overpriced drinks. We had this awesome buzz around us, overlooking the sea in the moonlight. It was one of those moments I know I'll never forget.

9. Did you re-do your vows at your reception? Did you wear your dress again?
Short&Long Answer: Nope to vows. Yup to dress.

10. WAIT..wait wait wait. But are you even LEGALLY married?
Short Answer: Yes.
Long Answer: Our goal initially was to legally be married in Greece. I worked on getting some paperwork done and had a month and change of VERY frustrating emails back and forth with the Greek Consulate. Boring story short, paperwork didn't go through for our wedding to be legal abroad, so we got our papers legally signed in Wisconsin when we returned.

11. Ohhhhhhhh Nice try then. So I mean you weren't REALLY married in Greece?
Short Answer: OMFG don't be rude you jerk.
Long Answer: Very few people asked me that question in that tone of voice, but the people that did...well..let's just say I think less of them now. To me, and to Michael, October 26th is our anniversary. It's when we said our vows to each other and promised to be together forever as husband & wife. The fact that the State Of Wisconsin doesn't recognize that date is fine with me, I understand the legal stuff- but the State of Wisconsin doesn't get to tell us when our true marriage was real. I have a friend who at their big, traditional wedding had something go wrong with their marriage certificate- and so they weren't legally married until 3 weeks later when it all got sorted out. Would you go up to her and say OH SORRIEZ your wedding wasn't real! That's not your REAL anniversary! So it's the same with us. Bai. (can you tell I get fired up about this? BAH.)

12. Ok fine- but where are the wedding pictures? Aren't you sad you don't have photos from the day from other people?
Short Answer: They are on their way. And only like 10% sad.
Long Answer: The wedding pictures are being edited, just like any other wedding pictures. We have a sneak peek but haven't posted them yet.  Obviously we're antsy to get them too. 90% of me is just fine not having any pictures from anyone else, because again, that was the plan. 10% is bummed that there weren't many candid non-professional shots captured, but my fingers are crossed the professional ones will all make it worth it!

13. Did you guys do any traditions that day? Did you stay in separate places the night before?
Short Answer: Yes to traditions, No to separate places.
Long Answer: Despite not having a traditional wedding, I looove traditions! I still did the old "something borrowed/blue/old/new" thing, which was fun. We also did a "first look" before the vows part, which we got captured on camera. Also- Michael never saw my dress or me IN my dress before our first look. It was seriously tricky to travel together and hide it, but I made it happen!
We stayed in the same place the night before, and ate breakfast together that morning..and hung out most of the day too! Being on vacation together didn't really allow for separation ;-)

14. Did you write your own vows? Were they a surprise to each other?
Short Answer: Partially...to both questions.
Long Answer: We wrote most of our vows together the night before our wedding and finished them the day of. We used a combination of parts of vows we found online, as well as some of our own words. The beginning and the end of the vows to each other were the same, and then in the middle we each wrote a few sentences that were a surprise during the actual exchanging of vows! We have the papers our vows were written on that we read to each other and I'm framing them to hang in our loft :)

15. Would you do it the same all over again?
YES!

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Long story short, we really REALLY enjoyed our trip and our wedding. We have a million stories and memories that we get to share together for the rest of our lives, and we feel insanely lucky for that. Everyone has their own vision of how they want their wedding to be like, and we got really fortunate to be able to actualize ours. We had so many completely kickass friends and family members support us, share in our joy, and get us even more excited for the choice we made. If I could pass on one piece of advice to anyone for their wedding it would be this: Focus on what brings you and your partner joy and go after that. Stick to your gut and remember this is about a marriage, not just a wedding ;-)


Have more questions about how we did our wedding?
Feel free to leave a comment or email me! (beautyandbeard AT gmail.com)

xo, laura

3 THINGS TO MAKE YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION A SUCCESS // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Ok.

I'll come right out and say it; this post is ridiculous for this reason:

 Everyone has their own version of success. 

Maybe your version of success is pleasing just your parents at your reception! Maybe it's every single person Instagramming your wedding cake!
Clearly this post is based on what I think would be a success, so take it with a grain of salt. 

My version of success is everyone having a freaking awesome time. 

Michael, me, our family, our friends.

Everyone leaving feeling sliiiightly bummed to leave because they were having such a good time.

I want it to be like this:

via GIPHY

Anyway.

Here we go, the 3 things that will make your wedding reception a success:

1. HUMOR:

Maybe it's a funny toast. Maybe it's pictures of your and your partner being nerdy little kids. For, us, it's going to be koozies. We weren't going to do wedding favors...but then Michael thought it would be hilarious if we did tacky wedding koozies since our party is at a brewery. 

They are tacky. They are cheap. They will make people giggle. 

Oh, and I mean hopefully we'll give a funny toast. I'm going to rely on Michael for that, everyone thinks he's funnier than I am anyway (it's true).

2. SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE TO DO:

 If you're the guest at a wedding, you're looking for something to do when you need a break from the dance floor when crappy songs come on (I'm lookin' at you, couples that play Norah Jones at your wedding). 

So have some yard games! Or a build your own cocktail bar! I don't know, you can probably google like 100 better ideas, but seriously. 

We're having a photobooth at our party because we freaking love photobooths. People can take as many pictures as they want and get a little souvenir to put on their fridge :) We booked Greg Meir Photography  knowing we'd get great pictures at a great price with a great booth attendant. If you're in the Madison/Sun Prairie area - look him up!

(Photo via Meir Photography) 

3. FOOD.

I don't care if your reception is at 10 am or 10 pm, have food at reasonable times.

You know how you get hungry around the same times each day? SO DO YOUR GUESTS. It's like sometimes when people plan their wedding they forget what it's like to have been guests at other peoples' weddings! 

Have snacks out if you think your meal will start late. Have late night food if your ceremony is booze-filled and going into all hours of the night.

Our party is late-night so we're not having an official dinner, but we'll have plenty of snacks, along with late night pizza delivered towards the end of the night.

via GIPHY

So there.

That's it you guys.

You don't need to have the most Pinterest-y decorations or the most expensive booze.

What did you have at your wedding reception that you really loved?

PLZ TELL ME SOMEONE ELSE HAD KOOZIES!

xo, lp

(ps, see the rest of the #BBweddingseries posts HERE)

LIFE LATELY: AUGUST

You guys.

Remember when I used to do "Life Lately" posts every week?

HOW DID I HAVE THE TIME FOR THAT?!

Oy.

Since I've been useless at blogging lately on stuff other than the wedding, I figured I'd share a little bit of what's going on around here!

#1: Wedding related stuff:

1. You can read previous wedding posts here. They won't disappoint!

2. I got a dress! WOOT. More on that later. 

3. We've started booking stuff for our actual wedding in Greece and it's so exciting I might explode. 

4. Michael's aunts are throwing me a bridal shower this weekend and I am SO excited to spend time with all of them. PLUS I get to see my sister Louisa, so that's just the cherry on top! 

5.I stupidly gave people a REALLY long time to RSVP to our reception when we come back from Europe and it drives me crazy that I can't fill in my OCD Excel spreadsheet with all the info of people attending. That being said, getting texts/snaps of people getting RSVPs makes me just as excited as actually getting them somehow. So there's that. 

#2: Outdoor stuff

I really couldn't think of a better name for this section, so whatevs. It's 9:42 on a Sunday, give me a break. Point is, summer rules.

1. Terrace Time. The Memorial Union Terrace at UW-Madison is one of my favorite places on earth, and we've been going to enjoy plenty of sunsets (and beer).

2. Wine! Wollershiem Winery is a little over 30 minutes from us, and we recently ventured there for the first time. It was so fricking scenic I even surprised myself by only Instagramming one picture. #maturity.

3. Trips back to my parents' house for family time and time at the lake. Not only do I get to see my parents, but I also get to take basic photos like the one you'll see if you scroll down!

 #3 FRANDS.

Most of the pictures I've taken from recent friend hangouts will not be posted on the blog, because then my friends would probably stop being my friends. So I'll just post a couple of pictures from my friend Lauren's luau themed bachelorette party. She's quite possibly the sweetest bride-to-be on the planet!

 #4: Writing half a blog post and then quitting

I mean, if I'm going to fully encompass what's going on in life, that's a big part of it. I have 3 more #BBWeddingSeries posts half done, plus 1 photo editing post and 1 Rocksbox post with pictures...but no words yet. Le Sigh. 

I'll post the wedding ones soon, and in the meantime, if you want free jewelry delivered to you for a month with free shipping/returns, then go to Rocksbox.com and use code "Laurabff462" 

#yas.

Other than those things, we're just getting ready for a bunch of busy weekends in a row, including a handful of weddings we are SO SO excited for!

What's new with you friends?

If you're sick of waiting 3 months at a time for one of these post, just find me on Instagram (@lpodlich) or Snapchat (lpod216) for a look at daily life :)

xo, lp

I SAID "MAYBE!" TO THE DRESS // B&B WEDDING SERIES

Yes, you read that correctly. I said "MAYBE!"to the dress. Not "YES!" to the dress.

I can guarantee that everyone has a different experience wedding dress shopping...but shows like "Say Yes to The Dress" make it seem like everyone has the same experience, right?

Here's the scene:

Bride-to-be walks in with a posse of 16 gorgeous bridesmaids, mom, future mother-in-law. They all are gushing about how wonderful she is. She tells a story of the romantic way her fiancee proposed, everyone is already in tears. She explains what she's looking for in a dress for her Aruba destination wedding of 400 people and sends the Bridal Consultant on her way. She tries on a few dresses, mom starts crying. She tries on a few more, bridesmaids start crying. Bridal Consultant throws on a veil and a sparkly belt and Bride starts crying. "YES! I say YES to the dress!!!" she declares through her teary fake eyelashes. Everyone hugs her, even bridesmaid #4 who is in love with the groom-to-be and secretly hates the bride. 

via GIPHY

The thing is, that's really not how it goes down. Or I mean, not how it goes down for everyone. I know some people find their dream dress at their dream price on the first swing- it's just not exactly how it went down for me.

I know it's a lot cleaner to say "I went dress shopping and said YES to the dress!" instead of saying "I went dress shopping and am not 100% sure because there are a few things I still need to consider so I said MAYBE to the dress!"...but for me, it's just not reality.

My dress experience was a little more laid back than SYTTD. I went to two local dress shops with two amazing, supportive friends (and the mother of one of those friends who was in town!) and showed up with a vague idea of what I wanted, a general idea of a budget, and a crazy short timeline (we leave for our wedding in Greece in less than 3 months)!

I tried on a few dresses- shockingly loving each of them. Dude you GUYS wedding dresses are flattering. They suck you in in all the right places and convince you you have the waistline of Kate Moss. It's neat. The...4th dress I tried on was MAGICAL. It was a non-traditional color, it was flattering, it was simple and elegant and romantic. I couldn't stop staring at myself. #VAIN.

via GIPHY

The ladies I was with were in love with it too- but when I looked at the price tag and realized it was over budget. In that moment I felt a lot of jealousy for the women on SYTTD and their $10,000 budgets from their rich great-great-aunt. Where was the magical moment that happens on the TV show where the Bridal Consultant says "Oh! You know what, we like you so much here's 50% off the retail price!"?! I tried on 2 more that I did NOT like (clearly a tactic by the Bridal Consultant) and decided to put a hold on the dress I loved, since it was an as-is sample.

I have 2 weeks to decide on what the hell to do, but there it is, how I said "MAYBE!" to the dress.
Stay tuned for what I end

Ladies out there- how did your first dress shopping experience go?
Anyone else say "MAYBE!" to their dress?

xo, lp

Want to follow along more on the B&B Wedding series?
Either:
Follow me on Instagram HERE or Snapchat: LPOD216
or check out the rest of the posts HERE!

HOW TO CUSTOM DESIGN YOUR ENGAGEMENT RING // B&B WEDDING SERIES

I knew exactly what my engagement ring would look like when Michael proposed.

How? 

 I helped design it! 

The reactions I get when I tell people I took part in making my ring are variations of the following:

1. "That is so cool! How awesome you had a say in what the ring looks like!"

2. "Ohhhhh...you didn't want it to be a surprise? I can't imagine if it hadn't been a surprise for me"

The second version just really gets me. I don't go up to people who had their ring given to them in surprise and say "Ohhhh...you didn't design your ring? Oh..so..you just..settled with what he gave you?" That would be ridiculous and rude. And wrong. Because there's just no right answer when it comes to engagement rings. Heck, you don't even need an engagement ring if you don't want one.

Michael and I first talked about getting married after about 2 months of dating, so we were more than comfortable talking about rings. I'm INSANELY picky, and was so happy and appreciative that he knew me well enough to know that I would like to have some (read: alot of) control in what the ring looked like. Ironically enough, my ring ended up looking just like a ring that Michael jokingly told me he would buy me one day when we were still in college.

 Also- let it be noted that looking at my ring, no one would ever guess it was "designed". It's a simple, platinum three-stone ring- but nothing out there I saw had the exact band width or profile size that I wanted- so we designed one that was exactly what I was looking for! "Designing" doesn't need to mean over the top crazy wild details- even the most simple white t-shirt was "designed!"

This post is for anyone else who is hoping to design their ring too- these are steps I took, and I hope they'll be helpful to you!

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Step 1: Get inspiration online.

Go on Pinterest. Scroll through #engagementring and #theknotrings on Instagram. Search Etsy. There are so many easy, pressure-free ways to search for rings nowadays! I created a hidden Pinterest board with my sister who has a lot of jewelry knowledge and we bounced ideas back and forth of what looked good. 

Step 2: Try some rings on!

Going into a jewelry store is just like going into a clothing store. You are allowed to try the merchandise without having to BUY anything. I know, it can be a little intimidating or awkward to walk into a store alone- so bring a friend! My sister and I went through a store about a year before Michael proposed and we both tried on a bajillion rings. See what you think looks good on your finger. See if you like a white or yellow or rose gold (or other metals). I kept gravitating towards 3 stone rings, so it's clear that's what I wanted to end up with.

Step 3: Find a jeweler you're comfortable with & ask about their policies.

A few friends recommended a local jeweler, which is both where I checked out rings with my sister, AND ended up designing the ring. The people were welcoming, not overly pushy, and incredibly knowledgeable. Michael and I found a guy in the store with an outgoing, honest view on picking out a ring that we loved. I asked about 20 questions about their policy on designing rings- and found out it costs ZERO money to design a ring, and if you don't love it when it's done, it's a full money-back guarantee. That took a ton of weight off of both of our shoulders!

Step 4: Share your ideas, and BE. SPECIFIC.

Oh lord. This isn't the time to be wishy-washy my friends. This is something you'll wear forever. I was very clear I wanted a platinum band, and valued quality/clarity of the diamonds over size. My biggest requests were to have the stones be low-profile and to have a narrower band. I personally don't like it when stones sit up really high on the ring, because I feel they catch on everything, and I have really short, sort of wide fingers (#truth).  He found us a ring that was similar to what I wanted, and we went from there.

Step 5: Choose your diamonds & get a mock-up done.

Oy. This made my head spin. Our jeweler brought out loose diamonds of different sizes and it took a while to pick what what was right. Once we had an idea, our jeweler sent instructions to the designer and they sent back versions of what the ring would look like with different sized side stones (image below).  I ended up not going with either of the exact below options- but here's what the sheets look like! FYI- it takes about 2 weeks to get the drawings back.

Step 6: Get a wax mold made. 

Once you've approved the drawings and picked your stone(s), the designer makes a wax mold of your setting, so you can rest the stones in it and get an idea of what the tangible ring looks like. Keep in mind, if your ring has prongs, they'll look a little oversized in the wax mold form. From CAD to getting your mold, it takes about 2-3 weeks.

Step 7: Get the ring! (and get it insured!)

I chose to NOT pick up the ring with Michael when it was done, because I wanted to at least be surprised with what the final-FINAL product looked like. From wax mold to final ring, it takes about 3-4 weeks. Before you (or your partner) walk out the door, be sure you have your ring insured. Whether it's on an existing insurance plan, or through Jeweler's Mutual, DON'T be lazy about this! If you lose your ring or it get's stolen and you don't have it insured, you are seriously out of luck. HERE is a great, easy article about ring insurance!

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I truly, 100% believe that the jeweler you work with can make or break your experience. If you're not getting a good vibe from the first person you work with, email the jewelry store and request someone else. Don't. Feel. Bad. You are paying a premium for their service, don't at all feel like they get the final say in who you work with. I can assure you that they'd rather you request someone new than go to a whole other store to purchase your ring!

If you designed your ring, what advice do you have?

xo, lp

Want more of the #BBWeddingSeries? You can find all the posts here!  

THE 51 STAGES OF WEDDING INVITES // B&B WEDDING SERIES

When it comes to wedding planning, I feel like people don't talk about invites much. Maybe it's just because I'm a huge paper goods nerd, but this is something about the process I was SO excited about! It turns out if you're indecisive (like I am), it takes a liiiitttle more time than you'd think. In the end, we found wedding invites we absolutely loooooove, but I definitely thought I would get this task done in like 30 minutes. Sigh. So naive.

Here are the 51 thoughts while creating wedding invites:

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1. Oooh! We get to send out invites! Yes!

2. I can't fricking wait. Everyone is going to want to hang our invite on their fridge.

3. We have to do letterpress. Anyone who's anyone does letterpress!

4. Whoa. Letterpress is really expensive.

5. Wait this is like down-payment-on-a-house expensive.

6. Ok so maybe not letterpress. I'll Pinterest this up in another way somehow.

7. Hm...is gold foil still in? 

8. Never mind that's too expensive too. 

9. Okay let's just Google "cheap wedding invites".

10. Oh! We can afford this site!

11. Mmmkay let's see- 186 design available. 

12. Sort "low $ to high $$$". 

13. Welp these look more like 40 year high school graduation-y than wedding-y.

14. WHY ARE THESE ALL SO UGLY.

15. Screw this I'm designing my own. That's not hard right?

16. Should we have a picture of us or not?

17. Are pictures of us only allowed on Save the Dates?

18. Okay no picture of us. Artsy picture of leaves instead.

19. Wait...maybe sparklers?

20. Nope sparklers are too "4th of Julyish"

21. Ok these leaves rock, let me ask for opinions from people.

22. Soooo no one likes the leaves. Shit.

23. Time to Google "free stock photos of leaves"

24. "fall leaves"

25. "red leaves"

26. Whoa "leaves" looks weird after typing it 30 times.

27. Okay. Got the photo. Time to add text.

28. WHY IS NONE OF THIS TEXT LINING UP LIKE I WANT IT TO.

29. F*&( IT I DON'T CARE I'M JUST SCRIBBLING "COME TO THE WEDDING" ON A POST IT.

30. Ok. Calmed down. Maybe I should keep trying..to..make this...work...just..line..up..

31. (5 hours later) SCREW THIS I'M USING A PRE-MADE DESIGN

32. Ok...nothing pink..or orange..yellow is hard to read...purple looks bleh...hm...

33. Oooh! This one is nice! Okay design chosen I AM A GENIUS THIS IS AMAZING.

34. Names CHECK. Location CHECK. Time...

35. Wait.. 7pm? or 7 PM? or 7'oclock? 7 in the evening? Hm...

36. Blurb about marriage abroad, CHECK. Accommodations CHECK!

37. Do we put the registry on the back of the invite? *checks 50 wedding sites* 

38. Now the great part where we tell people they can't bring their kids...this should be fun.

39. Googles "how to tell people to not bring kids to a wedding" 20 times.

40. Whew. Add the wedding website and we are GOLDEN!! YAAAS.

41. Wait. Shit. Do we do RSVPs online? Or a card?

42. Is online RSVP cool and forward thinking or cheap and annoying to old people?

43. Will people forget to RSVP online? I like online RSVPs but do other people!?!?

44. Screw it we're getting RSVP cards, real mail is the absolute best.

45. *runs finished product past a bunch of people*

46. Okay. Time to order. Feeling great about this. *hits PURCHASE*

47. &%*$& DID I SPELL "accommodation" wrong?!!?!?

48. Nope we're  good. Whew. 

49. WAIT I BET I SPELLED OUR NAMES WRONG.

50.Okay nope those are good too. Time to stop staring at this goddamn screen.

51. Shuts computer. Gets glass of wine. 

THE END.

-------------------------------

Where did you get your invitations from? Minted? Shutterfly? Etsy? Vistaprint? Kinkos?

Let me know how it worked out for you!

xo, lp 

For more fun, find me on instagram @lpodlich or snapchat: lpod216

See more on the wedding series HERE


(and if you're wondering, the front of the invite ended up looking like this.. with location/address removed of course!)

VOTE ON A DRESS! (B&B WEDDING SERIES)

For someone who loves tradition A LOT, I'm having a pretty non-traditional wedding. 

No walking down an aisle, no bridesmaids, no bouquet toss. Just about the only traditional things that will happen will be that we will say vows to each other, and that I plan on wearing a long white dress. The first one is the only really important thing, right?!

Anyway- weirdly I love the newer tradition of the bride wearing a white-ish shorter dress to pre-wedding events, like bridal showers/bachelorette parties/etc. I don't know who started it (cough social media cough)- but because there is NEVER another occasion to really wear a short white dress, this seems like the perfect excuse to buy one.

Because I am the most indecisive human ever, I'm employing you to help me pick the type of dress to wear. This will end up being used for a small family/friend party, a dinner before our return-home from getting married reception, and any other events that may pop up! Throw in your input below (bonus points if you have an "other" option you love!)

Okay team, tell me what to wear- vote in the poll below! 

xo, lp

web surveys

4TH OF JULY CANDY BARK

I had to get in one post before the weekend of 4th of July celebrating! 

Be sure to follow the ridiculousness on Instagram --> @lpodlich  or on Snapchat: lpod216

Get ready to make this and have everyone think you are SUPER cool (pin it so ya don't forget it):

Candy Bark of all forms is every where. I mean, I make peppermint bark every year and thought THAT was fancy, but now people are making a million iterations (how cool is this Pocky bark?!). I see Halloween Bark and Christmas Bark and ALL THE BARK in my future. Slash YOUR future.

But today, we're just going to start with 4th of July bark. It's fun. It's festive. It's easy as heck.

-----

What you need to make it happen:

1 cup White chips

1 cup Wilton Blue Candy Melts (get them at Michael's, Joanns, Amazon)

1 cup Wilton Red Candy Melts 

Pan lined with Parchment Paper

Something to swirl with (I used a wooden kabob skewer)

Red/White/Blue M&Ms, sprinkles, or other candy

Crisco (optional)

Parchment lined baking sheet

How to make it happen:

Step 1: Separate your candy melts into 3 bowls and melt on medium-high heat in the microwave for 25 seconds at a time, until melted. If you choose to use Crisco to make melts thinner, use 1/2 Tbsp per color.

Step 2: Plop down (official term) your melted candy color by color, so they are all over the pan, touching but not overlapping. (Pro Tip: If you are using white chips instead of white candy melts, do the white last. It kind of got overpowered by the other colors!)

Step 3: Using a skewer (or another pointed object) start to slowly swirl your colors together, with long sweeping swirls. If you over-swirl (another official term) you'll end up with a pan of purple.

Step 4: While the candy is still melted, scatter M&Ms and sprinkles over it, and put in the refrigerator to cool/harden.

Step 5: Once fully hard, break into pieces and enjoy!

Pro Swirlz:

So easy!

What (besides this) will you be making this 4th?

xo, lp

Still need more 4th Of July ideas? Try the coolest Tie Dye Cake or these Mixed Berry Mojitos!

Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram --> @lpodlich  or on Snapchat: lpod216

HOW & WHERE TO REGISTER FOR A WEDDING

Registering for a wedding is overwhelming and weird.

There.

I said it.

You stand in a store and say "HM WHAT CAN I MAKE PPL BUY ME 2DAY?!".
I didn't grow up making holiday or birthday wish lists- you would get what you were given and you'd be appreciative...so making a list of things (some expensive) was kind of awkward!
Then there's the rules of it all. Thanks to wedding websites I now know that I am evidently supposed to own enough teaspoons to serve a small army and 50 sets of matching towels. The problem is Michael and I currently live in an apartment, so we don't have a ton of space to store 50 sets of matching towels... unless we get rid of our bed and just sleep on towels.
Wait. Actually that sounds cozy. Hmm...

I digress.

Here's a little window into what it's like to register- the good, the bad, and the super awesome.

Let's start on a good note, shall we?

REGISTRY PLACE #1: TARGET 

We registered for Target both in store AND online, because it was so dang easy.
If you go into the store, you can either use one of the scanners from Guest Services, or the Target App on your phone. We did both- the first time we used the scanner, and the second time we used our phone- and both were disgustingly easy and user friendly.

The scanner tells you when you've successfully scanned something so you don't have to worry about whether or not you'd added the item. Then it gives you the option to increase the quantity, so you don't have to scan the same item (like 50 towel sets) over and over again. You can also easily delete the item if you decide you like something better! At any time you can scroll through the full registry to edit or delete things in one click.

Don't mind the glare on the phone...but the Target App is just like using Target Cartwheel! Just use the photo scanner to scan the bar code on the shelf or the product and then add/delete/change just like you would on a typical scanner!

As for registering online at Target- my favorite part is the checklist part. It groups different kinds of  products together, and checks them off once you've added something to your registry that fills that bucket. Of course, you probably don't need everything on the list, but it's a good gut check!

REGISTRY PLACE #2: KOHL'S (spoiler; we deleted this one)

Whoa Kohl's was the woooooorst. Oh man. We were told to register there or Macy's and man, nope nope nope. 

When we arrived, we stood in line for about 10 minutes waiting to check out a scanner and the one person working was taking forever - so we decided not to wait for the other few people in front of us- we'd just download the app and go on our own. It started out fine b/c we had Starbucks, but kind of went downhill from there: 

 Like the Target app, you use a photo scanner over a barcode- but unlike the Target app, if you want more than one item you have to scan it over and over again to get multiple quantities. In addition to that anytime we would try to delete an item, the app would freeze- and wouldn't delete the item!

The biggest downfall was that about half the items we tried to scan wouldn't register! We would get an error message saying "We're sorry, this product couldn't be found". 

Um. What?! 

If it happened once I wouldn't have thought twice- but it happened about 8 times until we just gave up and left. When we got home we tried to delete the registry - but every time we would try to delete it, the site would freeze, kick us out, and make us sign back in...to find that the registry wasn't deleted! It took tweeting, facebook messaging, and emailing to get it deleted...total nightmare. Needless to say we are NOT registering there, and will not be recommending it to anyone!

REGISTRY PLACE #3: BED, BATH, & BEYOND

I feel like Bed, Bath, & Beyond is one of the quintessential wedding registry places. We walked in and there was a whole registry section, with someone to greet us and walk us step by step through the process.  We chose to use a scanner in store, and while the thing looked like it was from 1990, it was easy to use!

Just like the Target App, it was easy to add/change/delete items!

 The best part about BB&B is the fact you can take stuff out and hold it. Picking out silverware is kiiiind of hard to do if you can't tell how heavy/awkward it is :)

We also added a few items online- which was also crazy easy! Every item has the option of "Add to Registry" just like "Add to Cart" - so you don't have to constantly be going through the actual Registry site! 

Oh, and let the record show we didn't register for this Grill Pan - but someday I will own ALL the Le Creuset items on earth. #fact.

 REGISTRY PLACE #4: ZOLA.COM

So here's the thing about registering when you live in an apartment, and have been together for 6.5 years: You have lots of stuff and not lots of space.
However, asking people to just write you a check is about as tacky as it comes, so that's where Zola helped us out. We ended up choosing it because our friends who got married last year used it and liked it, so we totally copied them. #noshame

Zola is a way to show people what you intend to do with your wedding money. Plain as that. Since we are planning on getting married during our 2 week trip to Italy & Greece, we decided to "register" for experiences while we were there!

We chose to register in ranges from $25-$150, so that people with all budgets would feel comfortable finding something in their price range. We made a list of things we want to do while we're abroad, and put them into amounts- like wine tasting ($25) up to 1 night hotel stay in Santorini ($150).

You can register for items at Zola just like at Target if you want, but we chose to use it as a venue for experiences over items!

WHEW!
Another marathon wedding post in the books...if you missed the last ones, you can find them HERE.

Where did you register for your wedding?
Any good horror stories or great experiences?

xo, lp


*pssst: are we instagram friends yet? we should be. for sure. find me: @lpodlich*
*pssssssst: do you like snapchat more? find me: lpod216