Remember the very clever DIY save the dates made from vintage postcards that I blogged about recently? Well, I asked Carey if she'd grace us with her presence over here at IntimateWeddings and be our first bride blogger. And she agreed!
Carey's intimate New Hampshire wedding is fast approaching. Her wedding date is October 3, 2009. She's still got lots to do before her Big Day, and she's still got lots to blog about during the next month. So, if you want to read all about Carrie's ultra creative wedding planning journey, check back here often for Carey's posts.
BTW, I'm looking for a few more good women to join the crew here as bride bloggers. If you are planning an intimate wedding (less than 75 guests) and you are interested in blogging about your wedding here at Intimate Weddings, email me at christina (at) intimateweddings.com and we can chat.
I have lived in Chicago for 3 years.
I am a Visual Manager at Anthropologie, so I get to work with beautiful things all day. This job is amazing because it allows for such personal creative freedom in a store environment!
I have two very big dogs: one black Labrador named Tucker and one Fox Hound named Belle. And I have a small but feisty cat named Greta. I love to garden (we have two 4×4 raised garden beds in our small urban backyard). I also really love a good book. Some of my favorites are Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. I love cooking, vacations, black coffee, and big lakes. And, I knew my husband-to-be for four years through online connections (we were both part of an community blogging group) before I ever met him in person. Two days after we met in person we were in love and planning his move from Florida to Chicago!
How many guests will you be having at your wedding?
We have invited 55, but should expect about 40-45.
Why did you decide to have an intimate wedding?
We decided early on to have an intimate wedding for a number of reasons, but primarily because we enjoy the idea of a family affair. I have a small family with few extended members, but a tight group of close friends I consider family. Nathan has a medium sized family, and is extremely close with his siblings and cousins. He considers them all close friends. We were excited to plan a party that invited all our loved ones together for merriment and memories without seclusion. We aren't having a "bride" and "groom" side of the aisle, nor assigned seating at the reception. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and I very much was attracted to a family style dinner setting where we all gather around a long table to eat, drink, and be merry! I don't think we would be able to accomplish that with a large wedding.
Where will you be having your wedding?
We are having our wedding in New Hampshire. When we first started searching for a location for the wedding I had "family affair" in mind, and I knew we would have to have a house as a setting.I wanted the location to feel cozy and inviting to our guests like a home during the holidays. After weeks of searching online I found the perfect place.
Why did you decide on this location for your wedding?
We chose New Hampshire and this beautiful home as the location for our wedding because of the incredible landscape found in the area, and Nathan's home ties to this state. The vibrant fall leaves and mountain scenery is all the decor we need!
In the beginning it felt like Nathan and I had very different expectations for what our wedding would feel and look like. But we were able to blend our ideas to create a ceremony and party we felt reflected both of us individually, and as a couple. I loved that planning our wedding brought us closer together, taught us more about each other, and showed us that we can really work as a unit. But I have to say planning all the little reception details was fun, too.
The most difficult part of planning our wedding was deciding what was most important to us, and then narrowing down what we could and could not do. I wanted to do everything! Since we are planning a New Hampshire wedding from Chicago we had a little bit of a disadvantage. Thankfully my future mother and sister-in-law live in New Hampshire and have been so amazingly helpful with everything!
Stay tuned for Carey's first post on Friday!