Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today is really just an excuse for me to add a pop of color to my wardrobe, sit on a patio, and eat tex-mex until I burst. Which is exactly what I am doing, you will find me in this white ruffle dress enjoying the patio weather and cheating on my wedding diet. I wore this white ruffle dress to dinner a few weeks ago over my bachelorette weekend. The elastic waist makes the ruffle flattering, and I plan to take this dress on my honeymoon because it is perfect for the beach. It fits true to size (wearing a small) and pairs well with flats or wedges. I chose to wear these raffia wedges and a matching clutch from J.Crew (similar). To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, I added a pop of turquoise with these Kendra Scott earrings and bracelet (similar). Shop this festive look and similar white ruffle dresses below! xoxo
I have been getting so many DMs on Instagram about planning a wedding, so I decided to answer the top 5 questions about planning a wedding in one post. Of course I am happy to answer any questions you do have over DM, but I thought this would be a good resource for those planning now or who might be in the future!
Are you using a wedding planner? We are not using a wedding planner. My mom and I are already very organized people and enjoy planning things, so most aspects of wedding planning come naturally to us. It helps that my mom works part time and is able to spend time during the day helping me. Without her help there is no way I would be able to plan everything with a full time job. If planning isn’t your strong suit, andyou do feel like you need a wedding planner, I highly recommend Ivory & Vine Event Co.
How long is your engagement and when did you start planning? Our engagement is 8 months long, and I feel like it is the perfect amount of time. Any shorter and I would not be able to have everything I want at our wedding, and any longer and I would over think every little detail. I started planning almost immediately after getting engaged. We first worked with the church to pick a date with some significance to us, and then we selected a venue for the reception. After we had the date and location down, I started interviewing photographer, so we could take engagements and get save the dates out. I also had my dress and bridesmaid dresses selected fairly early on because those take forever to come in and often need alterations.
How did you decide on a venue? I have known my whole life that I wanted to be married at Park Cities Baptist Church. No seriously, I think when I was like 5 I told my mom I would be married there, and well, not much has changed. It was a little more difficult for us to select a reception venue though. We narrowed it down to the Park City Club and the Museum of Biblical Arts, both are very close to the church. We eventually decided on the Park City Club because they took care of catering and eliminated the need for furniture rentals (perks of a country club), plus the view is amazing!
Where did you register and why? We registered at Crate & Barrel, Williams Sonoma and West Elm. We decided on each store for different needs, but chose them for their quality in respective areas. William Sonoma met all of our kitchen needs, Crate & Barrel was perfect for dishes and silverware, and West Elm had the bedding and home decor we loved. We chose these stores because they had locations near most of our guests, were easy to shop online, and did not often turn over products. Almost everything we registered for back in January is still in stock and available in stores (we just lost our salt and pepper shakers ha).
I have also linked a few of my favorite white dresses and accessories below for brides! xoxo
We are officially less than 60 days away from the wedding and in the process of buying a house (ahhh)! As you can imagine, I have been running all around town trying to get all the final details in order for June. After work, I either spend my time meeting with wedding vendors or looking at houses, and during lunch I am usually signing my life away with all sorts of paperwork. It is exhausting to go from the office to all these meetings in my work clothes, so when I find something as comfortable as this black silk tee, I wear it as often as possible.
This black silk tee from J.Crew is perfect for spring and summer weather. It fits a little oversized (wearing a small) which makes this tee even more comfortable to wear all day. It is lightweight and easy to tuck in or layer with other pieces, such as these high waisted jeans. I love the high-rise toothpick collection from J.Crew, and I was a sucker for the hem detail on this pair. I completed this look with my favorite Marc Fisher heels and Rebecca Minkoff clutch. Shop this entire look below! xoxo
If you follow me on Instagram stories, you know I spent this past weekend in Austin with my bridesmaids for my bachelorette weekend! We stayed in this cute little Airbnb on the south side of town, and I enjoyed having all my favorite people together for three days. We kicked off the bachelorette weekend with dinner at the Airbnb thanks to Jessica of Feast & Dwell. She prepared the most delicious buddha bowl with chickpeas, kale, quinoa, sweet potato, chicken and topped off with a homemade hummus sauce (perfect for the wedding diet). After dinner I dawned my “Future Mrs. Phillips” sash, and we headed to the Garage Cocktail Bar downtown. The Garage Cocktail Bar is in the middle of a parking garage and can only hold 88 people at a time. Since it is a smaller setting, it is the perfect spot to sit and have a conversation with friends, while getting the Austin experience.
Saturday mainly consisted of a wine tour through hill country with Discover Texas Wine. They picked us up in party bus, and we filed in wearing our matching Mexican embroidered dresses that I gifted to each bridesmaid. Cathy, our bus driver, took us from our Airbnb to three vineyards for wine tastings and back at the end of the day, which was so convenient. We started with Bell Springs Winery, followed by Salt Lick Cellars, and ended at my favorite of the three, Duchman Winery. My favorite wines on the tour were the Salt Lick Cellars Tempranillo and the Duchman Family Aglianico. After our busy day, we had dinner at Guero’s on South Congress for some authentic Tex-Mex. Finally, at the end of the day, we were all excited to get back to the Airbnb and put on our PJs and play some bachelorette games.
Before my bachelorette weekend came to an end, we stopped by Josephine House for brunch on Sunday. If you have not been to Josephine House, their brunch menu is all so delicious, and it is the cutest little spot (you might remember it from my ACL weekend this past fall). I was so sad for the weekend to end and for everyone to head back home. Austin was the perfect spot for a bachelorette weekend, and I hope to have many more girls trips to ATX soon! Shop all my bachelorette looks below! xoxo
Apparently when you get engaged, people expect you to wear white everywhere you go ha. Since my bachelorette party is this weekend, I decided to swap some of the black staples in my closet for white versions. My bachelorette will be pretty casual in Austin, so I will be living in this white button down and jeans.
I saw this white button down in Anthropologie, and I immediately picked it up because I love the Cloth & Stone brand. The material they use is so soft and is easy to style. I am also a huge sucker for a classic white button down. The subtle embroidery on the sleeves, pocket, and across the back really sold me on this top. I paired it with my favorite cropped jeans and simple white pumps, but it also looks great layered under a blazer or tucked into a skirt for a less casual look. I rolled the sleeves because that was most comfortable to me, but they fit right at the wrist and do not run long or short (wearing a small). I added my new favorite bamboo bag to the casual look. If you have not checked out the Shopbop sale, this Cult Gaia bag is included for up to 25% off! Shop this entire look below! xoxo
It’s crunch time. No seriously, I should probably be doing crunches right now. Our wedding is just 80 days away, so it is time to get real serious about this #weddingbod. It might sound silly, but #weddingbod is a real goal for me. It is not that I want to lose weight, but that I want to be confident in myself on my big day. I am not saying I won’t eat until the wedding, I get too hangry for that, but I am more aware of what I eat. We just won’t count the Easter candy I am finishing off as I write this… holiday calories don’t count, right?
My Fitness Pal has quickly become one of my favorite apps. I use it daily to keep track of what I am eating, and to see how active I am staying. The app has nutritional information for most restaurants and anything with a barcode. It makes it so much easier to determine what is actually healthy on a menu, and it keeps me from over indulging in sugar or carbs. If you have an Apple Watch or FitBit, My Fitness Pal will gather much more accurate data, but I am having to estimate for my workouts. Even on days when I do not have time to go to the gym, I make more of an effort to go for a walk or bike ride, so I can add some activity to my daily log. The app encourages you to take progress photos, which is so not my thing, but it has actually been helpful to see real progress towards my #weddingbod.
ClassPass is one of my favorite ways to stay active and on that “I am in the process of buying a house” budget. I have shared my experience with ClassPass in a previous blog post, and I still think it is one of the easiest ways to stay active. I have discovered so many new classes, but my current favorite is easily any reformer pilates (BodyBar in Plano is my favorite studio for reformer). I like reformer pilates because the classes are only an hour, and it focuses on whole body toning, which is my primary focuses. After just a few months of attending reformer pilates about once a week, I can already tell a huge difference in muscle mass and endurance. The classes also help relieve stress from work and increase my mood. An added bonus for my readers, receive $30 off your first month with ClassPass when you sign up here!
I am wearing my new favorite workout set from Outdoor Voices. Now, these lululemon leggings are still my favorite because they have pockets, but these Outdoor Voices leggings are a very close second. Since I do not have much of a torso, these leggings are more high waisted on me than intended, but the sports bra does fit longer. I added an old white bomber jacket (similar) to my look since it was a little windy in Dallas, as well as my favorite white Nike sneakers. Shop my entire workout look below! xoxo
