I’m excited to say this is my 100th post on Becoming Mrs. Dial! It’s been an amazing year and I have many more exciting things to share with you! Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Thanks to Twitter (and @GuyKawasaki), I find neat stuff like this to share with you all. Watch the whole thing. Seriously. What a FUN, UNIQUE, ARTSY wedding video. And the Passion Pit song is PERFECT. Cookiecutter is boring. Be different. Be yourself. LOVE it.

We’re headed off to Chicago this weekend for a bridal shower. Bridesmaid Stephanie is getting married in September, so now I get to be a bridesmaid for her! Stay tuned for bridal shower coverage and more of our wedding recap!

Love, Mrs. Dial

This is the series of posts I’ve been waiting for. Sharing all of the details we’ve planned over the past year and watching them come together for our special day.

Watch out. This post is HUGE. There’s a lot to take in…so please don’t skim through. I hope you’ll take time to read through my description of the day’s events and enjoy all of the beautiful photos from Daniel Meigs. And so we begin…

On the morning of Saturday, June 12, I woke up to yet another fantastic breakfast. (Notice a pattern here? ) I enjoyed a delicious morning meal with my parents and then jumped in the tub, thankful my hair still looked decent from the rehearsal dinner the night before and that I was meeting my hair stylist at the church that morning to get coiffed.

I put on a comfy tank top and my favorite workout shorts (fashionable, I know), grabbed my makeup bag and my parents and I loaded my dress, my brooch bouquet and the rest of our wedding day accessories and items into the car. Off we were to The Factory.

At this point, it was probably around 10:15am and the weather was already unbearably hot. Thank goodness all of our events were indoors.

The rest of the day’s events unfolded perfectly and everyone arrived on time. Around 10:30am, my stylist, Lindsey from Natural Oasis in Nashville, started taming my mane into a lovely, swept back ‘do.

Thank goodness for Lindsey. The sheer thought of doing my hair all by myself for only the biggest day of my life…so far…completely stresses me…

Lindsey working her magic:

Anxious and calm…all at the same time.

If I haven’t shared already…my hair has a mind of its own. God bless Lindsey and her patience with my locks.

Next? Makeup time! My friend Anna is a freelance makeup artist. I knew I could trust her with the sultry, glamorous look I was going for and not feel like I’d been dipped head first into an inkwell. (You know what I mean. Tarantula lashes…black out to my ear.) I didn’t want to look like I was in costume…and I wanted my practically transparent, blonde eyelashes to pop and really be the focus of my makeup. It was really important that I looked like ME on my wedding day. Not like I was trying to be someone else. Anna hooked me up.

Lovely smoky eye.

Time to plump up the puny lashes. Yay for mascara!

Thanking Anna for a beautiful job well done. Anna had to scoot on down the road to prettify another bride!

I couldn’t have asked for better gals to help me get fancified for our walk down the aisle. If you’re looking for a fantastic hair stylist, ask for Lindsey at Natural Oasis. If you need sultry, smoky lashes, pretty, pouty lips or a polished natural look , get in touch with Anna! (Well, contact me first and I’ll give you her info.) *wink*

The next wedding recap will cover my beautiful wedding gown and will feature the two lovely ladies who made wearing this wedding dress possible. Don’t miss it!

Well, here they are, folks. The lovely people responsible for the amazing man I’m going to marry in 5 days. (!!!!!!!!)

This weekend was their 40th wedding anniversary. How wonderful! A surprise dinner celebration was planned for them Saturday night at Demos’ Steak & Spaghetti House – a Middle TN favorite.

With a divorce rate that seems to be increasing every year, it’s so refreshing and humbling to see strong, firm relationships that last. If you’ve ever met The Dials, you know what incredible, selfless individuals they are.

Charlie and Laura, I’m so thankful for you and your family. Philip is my best friend and I’m so looking forward to our future together.

These next 5 days are going to fly by. I just know it. I’ll do my best to keep you posted along the way! I have so much more I want to share!

A few weekends ago, the weekend of the horrible Nashville flood actually, I went home (to Illinois) for the wedding reception of a dear friend (and fellow Rodan+Fields consultant), Mrs. Lindsey Henshaw-Atkins.

Lindsey is another friend with whom I have a long history. I can remember playground conversations in elementary school, (thinking there was a ghost haunting the house on a certain corner of where our playground was located,) field trips & bus rides, hot summer days cooling off in her pool, jealousy of her long-legged, rail-thin body that tanned so well (and my dissatisfaction at the time of my short-legged body that burned at the mere hint of sun), A.P. U.S. history class, hilarious lip sync contest rehearsals…and so much more. Linds, I’m so thankful for your friendship and am very excited for you, Neil and your new life together.

Here is the happy couple:

It was such a beautiful reception. Not only was it wonderful to watch Neil and Lindsey so obviously happy and in love, it was also refreshing to catch up with friends whom I hadn’t seen in years. (It was nearly a mini reunion of the HHS Class of ’03!)

Another long-time friend whom I was so happy to see and catch up with was Chelsea. Chels, Linds and I share many of the same fond memories. We all grew up together. Went to school together. Had sleepovers together. Spent summers together. Many of my childhood and teenage memories involve these three gals, so this was definitely a heartwarming night to remember. Here’s a photo of the three of us:

And here are Chelsea and I getting ready for the dollar dance:

Such a great evening. Close friends from childhood are so few and far between. Time passes. People grow up, move away and start new lives. So thankful to still be connected with these ladies.

I’m excited to share with you that there will be a baby Atkins making an arrival later this year. You can follow Lindsey’s adventure in (soon-to-be) motherhood by checking out her blog here. (Crap. I cannot find the link to her blog. Lindsey if you’re reading this…leave a comment here with the link & I’ll add it to this post…or put it on your FB info page…or text it…just get me the link somehow girl, so I can share it with my peeps here. ) As I mentioned earlier, Lindsey is also a Rodan+Fields consultant. You can check out her site by clicking here.

Also, Chelsea is an AMAZINGLY talented artist. (Seriously. Even the girl’s signature is gorgeous.) Check out her art website here and make sure you admire all the lovely beach lady portraits in her Etsy shop.

Alright, that’s all for today. Philip and I are spending time with my family, so I’ve got to run. I’ll be back tomorrow!

Look at these brooches! They’re even MORE fantastic in person! Thank you SOOO much to my bridesmaid Lisa for mailing these to me! I was PUMPED when these came in the mail today. Seriously…it was like Christmas. I’m so blessed to have beautiful people in my life like you. Thank you for taking time to find these stunning pieces of jewelry and then giving them to me. I love you and I hate we’re hours away from each other. Thank you for all you are.

Thanks to Philip’s amazing parents, I have several new pieces to add to my collection of jewelry for my vintage brooch bouquet:

Aren’t they lovely? This morning Philip’s dad came by our office with these. I love each of these pieces – especially the earrings on the left! So elegant. Philip’s mom says he gave her the butterfly pin when he was about 12 years old. That means a lot that she’d give it to me. Thank you to my future-in-laws for these gifts. This bouquet is going to be full of love. Thanks also to everyone who is still looking for jewelry to send! I love that you’re all as excited as I am!

When I became a Rodan+Fields consultant last Fall, my intent was to earn extra money for our wedding and for our new life together. (Belmont has been getting all my extra $$ for the past 3 yrs, so I’ve had $0 savings!) Thankfully my Rodan+Fields income is giving me other opportunities too.

I’ve been watching all the coverage of the need and devastation in Haiti over the past several days and I’ve been trying to figure out what I can do to help. Well, I’ve figured it out.

The Hands & Feet Project is an orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti that was founded by four people who go to my church. One of the founders was at church this morning to update us and share with us how Hands & Feet is impacting the community there. It was laid on my heart to support this organization and tell others about how they can help too.

Saying that, I’ve decided that for the next several weeks, 20% on all R+F orders will be given to Hands & Feet. If you’ve been looking for a way to make a difference, this is it. Please share this with others and reach out to me if you have questions.

Visit my Rodan+Fields product site to find the perfect clinical skincare for your needs and help Haiti too!

OR visit the Hands & Feet Project to make your donation directly.

As Philip and I have been working with our wedding budget, we’ve both been very realistic with what we want versus what is truly possible.

So 6 months ago, when we started envisioning our wedding day and setting our priorities, I have to admit, flowers were a low item on the totem pole. Don’t get me wrong. I love flowers. I think they’re beautiful and certainly wouldn’t complain if I received some tomorrow. But from the beginning of our planning process, I’ve really disliked the idea of spending money on something that will be beautiful for a short amount of time and then will wither, dry away and turn into a fragile mess. I’m SUPER excited to share that I’ve found a solution to my conundrum…a vintage brooch bouquet!

Isn’t that BEAUTIFUL?! Thanks to Amanda over at Fantasy Floral Designs, I’m going to have my very own lovely vintage brooch bouquet created from a collection of pins, earrings, brooches, rings, charms, etc. given to me by friends, family members and others who are special to me. Not only is it a unique piece of art, but it’s a keepsake I’ll get to treasure for years to come!

Everyone I’ve told about my project  has been so excited! I’m so excited others are as excited as I am! Just this past week I started telling people and I’ve already been given two brooches! (A cool little frog pin and a lovely gold butterfly!) I CAN’T wait to see what my final product looks like.

If you’re interested in contributing an item for my bouquet or have questions, thoughts, suggestions, PLEASE get in touch with me at becomingmrsdial (at) gmail (dot) com. I’d love to hear from you!

Today I finished reading “The Conscious Bride”. I’ll have a review/my lessons learned posted soon. Until then, here is my thought for the day.

I will be present and aware in the months, weeks, days, hours and moments throughout our engagement and wedding day. I will be true to myself and recognize my feelings and my emotions head-on as I prepare for our commitment.

Whether you’re a bride or a wife, you should read “The Conscious Bride”. You won’t be disappointed. I’m so glad I’ve read this during our planning. Stay tuned for more info! And thanks again to Liza of Maiden to Married for recommending!

Happy new year everyone! Welcome to 2010…the year I will become Mrs. Dial.

Wow. Exciting!

Knowing we’re halfway through our engagement, you probably think I’m all aflurry between guest lists, decoration ideas, dress fittings, jewelry hunting, etc. While I am working on a few of those things, I’m nowhere near “aflurry” or stressed – mainly due to the fact that I am a conscious bride.

What does that mean? It means that planning our wedding is more than never-ending checklists that involve flowers, table linens, invitations, etc. We’re planning the ceremony and celebration of our love and life-long commitment to each other. That’s what truly matters.

When I say I’m a conscious bride, it means that Philip and I have started our planning by visualizing our wedding day. We’ve talked about our values and why we’re getting married. In all of our planning decisions, we’re comparing our options with the goals/vision/values we’ve set for our big day. The media and the wedding industry often focus on the materialistic, tangible objects of the marriage…but rarely does anyone urge the bride and groom to focus on the internal, intangible items.

Based on a recommendation from bridal coach Liza Hippler of Maiden to Married, whom I met at the Franklin Bridal Ball last May, I just started reading a fantastic book titled “The Conscious Bride: Women Unveil Their True Feelings About Getting Hitched” by Sheryl Paul.

I can’t think of a more perfect way to start the year than by taking time to relax and enjoy this book. I’m about halfway through it and will keep you posted with final thoughts! Hope you’ve had a wonderful New Year’s Day!