so thankful.

(this was actually typed yesterday... but I am just getting around to actually posting!)
The time from Thanksgiving to Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year (closely tied with the entire month of October/fall). I love the traditions, the decorations, the Christmas music as it begins to come on the radio, and most importantly, spending time with my wonderful family.

The past year has been filled with changes for this Mrs. For starters, I was not a Mrs. at the beginning of the year but instead a fiance still in graduate school. I have now graduated, started a wonderful job, and gotten married. Whew! It's been a whirlwind of the year and I am thankful for those have been by my side through the many changes.

This is short and sweet, as I don't want to take too much time away from what's important on this day. I'll leave you with a few family pictures from the wedding. Happy Thanksgiving!

And a few funnies...

P.S. Not sure why the pictures are blurry! 

DIY details

I took on many DIY projects in the months leading up to the wedding. For any brides planning to do things yourself, I advise: Start projects as early as possible! I am a natural procrastinator and though I got some projects done ahead of time, many were completed in the two weeks before the wedding. Thankfully I had a great friend at work who talked some sense into me or I would have waited even later! Here's a peek at some of the the things I did for the wedding. If anyone would like a step-by-step tutorial for any of the projects feel free to leave a comment below!

Max's sign. SO last minute. And SO easy! 

 Painted on Saturday morning at 6 am. As in the Saturday of the wedding. 

A sweet friend helped with these... I almost forgot about them! I bought hangars on Friday and assembled for myself and all of the bridesmaids. 

Spray painted frame + chalkboard paint on the glass. The burlap votives were also handmade. 

And the moss ones. 

Very thankful for a friend who was patient enough to set up the printing for this. Assembly was tedious but a great zone-out-in-front-of-the-tv project. 

Simple. And painted on Thursday before the wedding...

Another simple project made from a plywood board painted with several coats of chalkboard paint. Moss was glued onto board with a hot glue gun. 

I can't actually take credit here... My sweet momma sewed all of the burlap runners for the wedding! This one is now being put to great use on our kitchen table. 

first look

CSB and I went back and forth several times on whether or not we wanted to see each other before the ceremony or wait until I walked down the isle. For a multitude of reasons, we decided we wanted to see each other beforehand. Looking back, I am very glad we made this decision! It was so wonderful to see him for the first time of the day and get to spend a few quiet moments with him before the craziness (wonderful craziness, of course!) of the evening began. It also gave us the opportunity to do all of our bridal party pictures prior to the ceremony, leaving us with more quality time to be spent with friends and family at the reception. 

 I definitely almost tripped and fell over my dress while showing it off to CSB...

I tied his bowtie for him... This is something I have always done since we have been dating and really wanted to do for him the day of our wedding. 

 While I'm overloading everyone with pictures, here are a few more of CSB and I before the ceremony.

All photos by the lovely and talented Betsy Limabaugh

the bridal party

CSB and I are both incredibly blessed to have amazing friends and family who made up our bridal party. Here are a few of my favorites pictures from the day.