Happy New Year Brideys!! I'm so excited for the upcoming year! To those of you recently engaged brideys (like over the New Year and/or Christmas), CONGRATULATIONS! And to those of you more experienced brideys, enjoy this spread! But, no matter how long you've been engaged, and what stage you are in with your wedding plans, I suggest paying close attention to this wedding because I'm REALLY excited to show it off to you today. Cassandra is a fabulous example of a cool DIY bride who remained calm when things got hot.
First of all, I love Cassandra and Josh's love story. It's really awesome when two people who've known each other for a long time finally realize that "the one" has been in front of their face the whole time! Opps! Sorry to give it away, but I'm a bit obsessed! Right? Secondly, not only is Cassandra GORGEOUS, but I cannot get over her dress... Seriously. And DAMN, this chick has some AMAZING legs!
Finally, I have a deep respect for any bride who recognizes that wedding planning has the ability to be a bit stressful, and then limits herself to a maximum of TWO "Bride Freak-Outs". Hell yeah! She simply got it out of her system, and moved forward. TOTALLY my kind of bride!
1. Bridey, how did you meet your spouse? (The short and sweet version please.)
Josh and I met at our university's freshman orientation.
2. How long were you together before you were engaged?
We had been friends for years before we ever started dating, and once we were, the engagement came pretty quick - about 7 months.
3. What was the length of time between the engagement and the wedding?
6 months!
4. Where did your wedding take place? (Venue, city and state)
At the Showalter's Estate in Olympia, Washington.
5. If you had to rate your wedding planning experience on a scale of one to ten with one being shitty, and ten being awesome, how would you rate it?
It was definitely a ten, but I had one day when I thought it was a one. (;
6. What was your favorite part of the wedding planning process? Least fave?
I loved doing everything on my own; all of the crafts and decorations were such a great way for me to calm down and really appreciate the wedding to come. My least favorite part was two weeks before the wedding when our original venue fell through, I was a wreck and really had no idea what I was going to do but obviously everything ended up working out perfectly. (:
7. Did anything go wrong (that you were aware of) at your wedding? If so, we’d love to hear about it (and maybe even see a picture?). Allow us to learn from you, bridey!
I would definitely recommend doing pictures before the wedding! My hubby and I wanted to keep things traditional and not see each other before the aisle, which meant pictures had to be done after our "I do's", and that cut into valuable reception time. By the time we had finished taking all of our pictures, a lot of our guest had decided to leave which was kind of disappointing. But, the pictures were really important to both of us, so it was something we were okay with in the end because now we have these beautiful captured moments of us on our special day that we will love and cherish for the rest of our lives.
(I'm DYING over this kiss!!! )
8. What was the biggest challenge you faced from the moment you were engaged to the day you walked down the aisle?
I can't help but laugh at this question now that I can look back on everything. Josh and I spent a good portion of our relationship long distance; he was in South Carolina and then Arizona while I was in Hawaii this past year. Our engagement happened while both of us were home for Christmas and the New Year, and afterwards we were both off to our opposite sides of the country. So, the biggest challenge for us was trying to plan our wedding long distance, with hopes of it being in our home state. That meant I was left trying to do most of the planning over the phone, online and with tremendous amount of help from my mom because I wasn't able to physically be in Washington to visit places or plan hands on. Luckily, I made it back to Washington about a month before the wedding, and was able to plan things out in person!
9. What advice do you wish you had before started planning your wedding?
I think the most valuable piece of advice I was given was by my mom. She reminded me everyday that this was my special day and no one else's, to plan it how I wanted it, to not get stressed out by the little things, and enjoy every moment because before I know it the day will come and go.
10. Looking back, would you have done anything differently?
I don't think so, I'm so happy with how everything turned out.
11. Bridey, please provide the most valuable lesson you learned while planning your wedding.
I limited myself to two "bride freak-outs", and they were both done in the comforts of my own home where no one had to deal with me but me. Being able to cry over everything at once, by myself, was better than freaking out on an innocent bystander who doesn't deserve that kind of emotion. And, it was rewarding to hear from everyone what a calm and stress-free bride I was.
Industry Folk (AKA Vendors):
Venue: The Showalters Estate
Food: Smokin (Also operated by the Showalters)
Florist: DIY
DJ: iPod!!!
Hair and Makeup: DIY
Thursday, January 3, 2013 in 
First of all, please tell me you know that the title of this post are lyrics from David Bowie & Queen’s “Under Pressure”? Well, if you don’t, then we can’t be friends… Just kidding, but definitely click on this link and educate yourself on being cooler. Not to mention a much cooler bride….
