Vendors and Dresses and Parties... OH MY!

It has been a busy two months in the wedding planning department! While I was sharing about each of my bridesmaids on the forefront, behind the scenes Al and I were busy making huge decisions about our big day! This will be quite the long post because a few weekends ago, I went dress shopping and we had our engagement party, and I am so excited to share about those experiences! To give a little spoiler: It was a dream weekend, and we are SO blessed!

But before I get to that, I want to share with you all the other things we have checked off our to-do list. Within the last two months we have hired our ceremony musician and DJ, booked our photographer and videographer, landed on a color scheme, picked our rehearsal dinner location, found bridesmaids dresses, almost completed our wedding website and registries, said yes to the dress, and celebrated with our loved ones at our engagement party! While that seems like a lot, the planning is only just beginning. My advice to any new brides out there: Let anyone help you who is willing to help! I have never been so thankful for such involved family members and friends! It truly makes this process so much less stressful and more enjoyable. I have created even deeper bonds with people in my life through this journey, and that is what is so special about it all to me. We are so excited about everything we have nailed down so far, and we can't wait to see our vision turn into reality. My favorite thing about the past two months is that a few weeks ago we celebrated the ONE YEAR mark! I was so emotional that day because I know that these months and weeks and days are going to fly by! In just a short time, Al and I will be husband and wife, and we literally cannot wait! Every day we ask each other, "Can we just get married today?" The answer has obviously always been no, but it makes me so happy to know that with each day that passes, we are one day closer to our big day!

On March 4, I said yes to the dress! I knew from the moment I got engaged that I wanted to get my dress from Coastal Knot Bridal. I interned there over the summer, and I loved the way they did business and how much they genuinely cared about each of their brides. It took everything in me not to book my appointment to try on dresses the day I got engaged! I think I ended up booking it on New Years Eve because I just couldn't wait anymore. I invited my mom, my sister Kayla, my sister Courtney & niece Lorelei (via FaceTime), my future mother-in-law, and my future sister-in-law to come to my first shopping experience! I'm so thankful I had all of their input and encouragement to help me find the one! The week or so leading up to trying on dresses, I had SO much anxiety. I am a fairly indecisive person, so I really thought this was going to be the longest process of wedding planning for me. I was nervous that I wouldn't find any that fit me right and that I wouldn't know when I put on the one. This was also a HUGE deal for me because I have known since I was sixteen that I was going to marry Al Rising, and I had been dreaming about this day and my dress for all these years. I really wanted it to be perfect and "the one."

Luckily for me, all the nerves were eased the second I walked in the door. Mrs. Leslie D'Agnese was the person working that day, and it ended up being a little reunion for everyone. She and my mom knew each other from many years ago, and she and Al's mom went to school together, so that in itself eased all the immediate angst. She was so helpful and relatable, and I'd do the experience over a hundred times because of how easy she made it for me. With the help of my entourage, I picked out probably 12-15 dresses. Since I worked there a little last summer, I was familiar with how the process worked and knew I just had to get started somewhere. Trying on the first dress was one of the most surreal moments of my life. I can't really put my feelings in that moment into words because I had honestly only felt that way one other time, which was when Al asked me to be his wife. It was something so special, and I'll never forget it for as long as I live. I'll also never forget the look on my mama's face when she saw me in a wedding dress for the first time. Honestly, the dress I had on was not flattering on me at all, but her face was so precious. I love that woman 💓. I tried on about 3 dresses before I got to the one that would end up being "the one" by the end of my appointment. 

When I put on what I now refer to as "my dress," I knew it was special. I had real life heart eyes over this dress, y'all. It was the first dress I really wanted to try on with a veil (anyone who watches Say Yes to the Dress knows this is a big deal). They aren't lying when they say there is something about a veil that makes it complete. In my heart, I knew this was my dress, but I was so scared to commit because I had only tried on 3 other dresses. They asked me if I was saying yes to the dress, and I told them I wasn't ready yet. So I went back to the dressing room and tried on about 9 or 10 more dresses. I found one other one that I really liked that ended up being my comparison dress, so at the end I tried on the comparison dress first. I saw it with a veil and took a good, long look at myself, and I just knew what my decision was. I went back in the dressing room knowing that I would be putting on the dress that I was going to say yes to! Normally, I'm a very emotional person, but I think I was just trying to soak up every ounce of that day that I didn't really get emotional. I walked out, put on the veil, and knew this was it. I said yes to the dress, we popped the champagne, and it was one of the best moments of my life!

I wanted to share a couple of my favorite moments from that day with y'all. The first one is my niece's reactions to what was going on. She kept coming up to the phone on FaceTime saying, "Mimo. Mama, what's happening?" Clearly she hasn't been watching any Say Yes to the Dress. She said this for most of the dresses I tried on, which really made me laugh. At one point I tried on a dress, and she looked at the phone and said, "Nope." So obviously I couldn't pick any dress that was not Lorelei-approved. But the best moment was when I put on my dress for the first time, she came up to the phone and said, "Mimo. Princess!" I should've known then that would be my dress. I love that sweet girl, and even though she probably won't remember, I loved having her help picking out my dress. My second favorite moment involved my sisters. It doesn't take long to figure out I am the baby of the three. Both my sisters are loud and opinionated, and I wouldn't have them any other way. They gave me helpful input for every single dress, and they never once disagreed with any feelings I had. When I tried on my dress the first time, I kept it on for a LONG time. I really didn't want to take it off. After a little discussion about what everyone liked about it, both my sisters got quiet (very unusual). I asked Kayla why Courtney wasn't talking, and she told me it looked like she was getting teary-eyed. She showed me the phone, and she was a little bit. We didn't dwell on those emotions, and we haven't talked about it since, but that is something I will never forget. The final favorite memory I want to share is the moment I said the words "yes" to my dress. I knew my mom and Al's mom would cry because they both are emotional ladies, but it is now one of the sweetest memories I have. I can't speak for their feelings, but I could see the joy in my mama's eyes and that was enough for me. I wish I could bottle that look up and keep it forever. Such a precious memory for me, and I know they would say the same for them.

Overall, trying on dresses was one of the best experiences of wedding planning so far! My advice for wedding dress shopping to any future brides-to-be would be to only take people with you who you know will encourage you and build you up. It's a vulnerable and special moment that you'll want to cherish for the rest of your life. You don't want to feel pressured or unsure because of someone else's opinion. Also, don't be afraid to share your likes and dislikes about dresses because it will only help you to narrow it down to the one. Soak up every single moment and really feel the emotions that come because you'll never get that experience again!

Mama, Kay, Court, LL, Lana, and Lauren: Thank y'all for making me feel like the princess that I think I am 😉. I am so thankful for the opinions, advice, support, and love y'all gave me that day. I'd do it all over again just to experience it with y'all. Only 346 more days until we're all dressed up together!!!

  

The next day was our engagement party, and it was so wonderful. My parents hosted it at our home for our bridesmaids and groomsmen, and it meant so much to Al and me that they were willing to do it for us. My mom put a lot of effort into decorating and planning, and I loved how everything turned out. We had a gold & white theme, and she and my Aunt Wanda worked together to make beautiful arrangements for the tables. The morning of our party, my mom, dad, sister, and I were outside for a good portion of the morning putting up decorations. The four of us make a pretty good team, and we were all able to get the same vision and go with it. My mom is the queen of the kitchen, so I knew food would not be an issue. My dad grilled burgers and hot dogs, and my mom made all kinds of dips and appetizers. We never are lacking in the food department, and I know everyone really enjoyed getting their bellies filled!

We had a majority of our bridesmaids and groomsmen show up. It was so nice to finally have almost everyone together to mingle and get to know each other. The boys played ball in the yard and goofed off (nothing less than what I expect from Al and his friends), and my girls and I just hung, talked, and chased after Sophia. The day ended with a backyard football game, which makes my southern heart so happy. It was so fun to watch everyone interact and be together. It's very rare for mine and Al's families to be in the same place, and even rarer for our friends to be in the same place, so it was everything we wanted. It was very simple, low-key, and laid back - all words that I would also use to describe mine and Al's life together. I feel like in this instance, a picture is worth a thousand words... so please enjoy these pictures from our party [photo credit for most pictures: K.Daniels Photography].

First of all, we want to say thank you to my mama and daddy for hosting our party. We are so grateful you opened up your home to all our friends and made it feel like home to them too. Y'all have done so much for us, and we will never be able to thank you enough. Al and I love you both more than y'all will ever know!

Secondly, we want to thank all our friends who came and celebrated our engagement with us. We have been blessed with the best friends, and we couldn't imagine sharing our wedding day and all these festivities with anyone else. Thank you all for being so good to us. Your friendships are priceless to us, and we wouldn't be who we are without y'all. We love each of you so, so much!

Lastly, we want to thank everyone who contributed in some part to making our party what is was. To the people who cooked, provided tables, lent cornhole boards, and just put in some last minute contributions to make everything go smoothly: We are so thankful for all of you and love having you all as a part of our lives.

To all of you who made it to the end of this post, thank you for reading about this time in our lives. We want these experiences to be well-documented so years from now we'll be able to look back and read through these posts and remember every detail. We are so excited for everything that is to come. We can't believe that we're nearing 11 months until our wedding day. We are actually counting down the days and know that it will be here so soon! Until next time, wish us luck on finding a caterer and starting to plan all the little details... we'll need it! 

The Wedding Party: Courtney Ligon

Last but certainly not least, I will be telling y'all about my beautiful matron of honor, my sister Courtney. Courtney is nine years older than me, which used to seem like so much when we were growing up. She went from being the only child for almost eight years to gaining two little sisters in less than two years. I know that was a big adjustment for her, and I am positive Kayla and I didn't make it easy on her. When I was little, I thought Courtney was the coolest person alive. Anyone who knows me knows that I have trouble remembering a lot of things from when I was little, but one thing I definitely remember was how much I wanted to be just like Courtney. She was my role model growing up, and she was always such a great example for Kayla and me. Courtney left for college when I was in fourth grade, so sadly a lot of my memories from then until I was probably in high school don't really include Courtney. With our age difference, we lived on different planets for a long time, but fortunately we have made up for that especially in the last few years. To this day, I still think Courtney is pretty cool (sometimes 😎), and she is definitely still one of my role models. She is so driven, so classy, and so generous. She is one of the best wives and mothers I know, and I am honored to have her by my side on my own journey to becoming a wife.

Because of our age difference and very similar personalities, Courtney and I have butted heads a lot throughout the years. Our mom says that trying to argue with either one of us is like arguing with a wall. Courtney and I simply believe that we should share what is right with people instead of letting them just be wrong. Courtney is very headstrong and has very strong opinions about most things. When I was younger, that really bothered me because I didn't want to hear her opinions if they weren't similar to mine. Now that I'm older, I can appreciate her opinions more because I know we can disagree and still get along. Courtney has "mothered" me most of my life, and I know that is out of genuine love and concern for my best interest. One of my biggest worries as I got older was that Courtney and I would never develop the kind of sister relationship that Kayla and I share. I always wanted to be closer to her, but we never really shared any common ground. I distinctly remember the day Courtney and I began to have the relationship I had been wanting for so many years. Over the last three years especially, Courtney has become one of my best friends. While we still disagree and our personalities are as similar as ever, I adore the relationship we have now. The funny thing is it is  nothing like the relationship Kayla and I share, but it is equally as special and strong. I wouldn't trade our years of differences for anything in the world because they helped me to better understand Courtney and made our relationship what it is today.

My very favorite memories with Courtney started on June 22, 2014. Courtney called me about a week prior to that date and told me she was coming into town to surprise our mom for her birthday. It had been a couple months since we'd seen her, so I knew mom would be so excited and surprised. I was going to be the only one home around the time she was getting into town, so I was there waiting for her when she got there. We sat and talked for a little bit, and then she got up to go to the bathroom. When she came back, she had an envelope in her hand. I thought she was handing me an invitation to her best friend's baby shower. I started opening it, not really paying attention to what I was doing. When I opened the card, the top portion was an ultrasound, and the bottom portion said, "Will you be my Aunt Moe? Love Baby Ligon." My heart could have exploded. I dreamed of becoming an aunt for so long, and she made that dream come true. I was so eager to share in her joy with her, and I am so thankful she allowed me to do that. We have talked more in the last two and a half years than we ever have in our lives, and our relationship has blossomed because of that. I am amazed at the mother she is - she was honestly made to be a mom. Being an aunt is one of my all-time favorite things, and it has given me so many sweet memories with my sissy. My only hope is that one day I can be half the mom that my mom and Courtney are; if I can do that, I feel like I'll be doing something right.

Courtney is the most generous person I know. She would give someone her last dollar if they needed it. She is always willing to go above and beyond for the people she loves. She gives her time and energy so freely to making sure those she loves are taken care of. She is also unapologetically who she is, and I don't know many people like that. She is confident in the person God made her to be and doesn't really care about what other people think of her. That is a quality I admire so much in her. She takes pride in her job as a wife and mother. Even when she doesn't feel like she's doing enough, the fruits of her labor can be seen in the happiness of her hubs and sweet girl and the quality of life she has made for herself. I could go on and on about the impact her dedication to her family has made on me. I am so proud of her and want her to know that her hard work doesn't go unnoticed. She is something truly special, and I am honored to call her my sister.

  

Courtney hasn't been able to spend as much time with Al as the rest of my family has. Their relationship is still growing, and that is really important to me. Al knew Courtney wouldn't be able to physically be there on the day he proposed, so one day he FaceTimed her while he was at the park so she could see where it would be taking place. Courtney told me that it was pouring rain that day, but he still wanted to show her, which is so precious to me. Courtney was able to be there through FaceTime that afternoon, and it made me smile so big to see her sweet face through the phone. Throughout the planning process so far, Courtney has been my biggest help. She has given me the best ideas and really taken into consideration what I want. She is very practical, which is exactly what I need because I can be a little impractical from time to time. I have loved every minute of getting to plan our big day with her, and it means so much to me that she wants to be so involved. I really hit the jackpot in the maid/matron of honor department. I am so excited to see all that they have planned for me during this special time in my life. I couldn't ask for a better sister or matron of honor than Court.

Courtney, you are so many things that I hope to be someday. I genuinely think you are one-of-a-kind, and you offer the world so much of what it needs to be a better place. You carry yourself with so much grace and class, and anyone who knows you is a better person because of it. I admire who you are as a wife and a mother, and I could never thank you enough for the influence you have on my life. I love that our relationship is always evolving, and I know without a doubt that you are one person I can always count on. Thank you for always being my big sister, second mom, and sweet friend all in one. Your title in my wedding might have the word "honor" in it, but I am truly the one who is honored to have you by my side. I love you more than I will ever be able to tell you.