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!

After an incredible evening with the girls, MOH Jill and I changed into PJs and sat up in bed, talking about the week’s events, our futures and our pasts. We reminisced about our younger days and talked about how much Grandma Mary would’ve loved every minute of the wedding festivities.

With eyelids drooping, I crawled into bed, reeling with anticipation for the next 48 hours.

The following morning, Friday, June 11, we awoke to Dad and Philip returning from their overnight stay with Philip’s parents. (Remember…we shoo’d them away for the bachelorette party!)

They dropped off their overnight bags and drove over to The Factory to move chairs, candleabras, the stage and, in general, get things where they’d need to be for Philip and I say “I do” the next day. (Word on the street is that Mrs. Dial, Philip’s mom, made an amazing, hearty breakfast. Lord knows that’s our favorite meal of the day. Mmmm.)

After a quick bite for breakfast, the girls and I also headed The Factory to meet up with Dad and Philip. For the next several hours, we spent time arranging tables with centerpieces (which I’ll show later!), putting down chairs and placing candles all around Building 8.

Shortly after noontime, we returned back to our place for lunch and for a bit of downtime before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner that evening.

I took some time to get a few things packed for the honeymoon, then decided to go ahead and jump in the shower. Goodness knows my hair likes to be a pain sometimes…and this was NOT going to be the day it had a mind of its own.

Of course, as soon as I jump in the shower, my phone rings. While I’m in the shower, I miss two more calls. Once I get out of the shower, I call the first person back and, while on the call, miss yet another call. I was really starting to lose my cool. Not anybody’s fault. They didn’t know I was trying to get lovely for the rehearsal dinner. That should’ve been the point where I handed my phone over to mom and just asked her to handle any incoming calls…but I didn’t. So for the duration of me trying to dry my hair, line my eyes and figure out what darn shoes to wear with my dress, I was also juggling phone calls of friends and family trying to get into Building 8. Not a good combination of events for a bride who is trying to stay calm and unfrazzled.

Eventually I just stopped picking up my phone. I knew that if people were desperate enough, they would call Philip, my mom, Philip’s mom or my MOH…and the situation would be handled beautifully. (This is  something I really encourage brides to do. Don’t feel like you have to be everything to everyone and have ALL the answers. Everything pans out.)

That evening around 6pm, everyone who would be a part of our special day gathered in Building 8 to join for a delicious dinner homemade by Philip’s mother, sister-in-law and twin sisters. Holy cow, it was incredible – poppy seed chicken, killer potato salad, green bean casserole, delicious rolls and Philip’s mother’s superb banana pudding. Mmmm. What a meal.

Then it was rehearsal-time…and we rehearsed…and after the last run-through, I started bawling with the realization that I was about to become a wife. (This was the first time this had happened in throughout our entire engagement.)

Here is a photo of my parents and I after the rehearsal. (My dress was another lovely find from Heylee B.)

After wiping away happy/excited/semi-nervous tears, we cleaned up a bit and headed home. Philip and I each finished packing for the honeymoon and each interviewed with the delightful writer who shared our love story on AOL’s AisleDash wedding site. He then grabbed his bags and headed over to one of his groomsmen’s home for the evening so I could enjoy spending the rest of the night with my parents.

Realizing how late it was and how bright-eyed and bushy-tailed we needed to be for the next day, we each headed to bed to get in some good sleep. Once again I was reeling with anticipation. Although I was extremely tired…I could hardly shut my eyes without imagining the next day…our wedding. Finally tiredness got the best of me…and the wedding was one night’s sleep away…

Our wedding and honeymoon. I blinked and they were gone! I’m going to rewind a bit to catch you all up on everything!

Thank goodness for the many kind hearts and helping hands that have helped us through all of this.

On Wednesday, June 9, the weekend’s events got VERY real. That was my last day at the office before the wedding and also the day my wonderful parents and amazing MOH (aka my fantastic first cousin) Jill arrived at my place.

What a time we had. While I did my wedding hairdo run through with my stylist friend Lindsey, Mom and Jill completed a few shopping trips and helped me cross a few things off my to-do list. That evening we made yet another trip to Target, cut out hearts for our wedding wish jar and folded, cut and glued wedding programs.

Here we are with our paper crafts:

Not only did we have a fun time with these little DIY projects, Dad and Philip enjoyed getting acquainted with our new Canon Vixia HD video camera!

See, Dad pulled another trick over on me. He is VERY good at this. Earlier that week, Dad plays like he and mom are going to get a new video camera and wants to know the best, top-of-the-line camera out there. He asks me to talk with our videographer and everything. So I get the best of the best from Esteban (our amazing video guy) and share with Dad. Little did we know, he was doing research to get an incredible video camera for US! Dad’s one sly, smart cookie.

That Wednesday was a late night. We were trying to get all these paper crafts finished so we could (somewhat) relax and enjoy the next day to prepare for the bachelorette party! SO FUN! I’ll spill all those details tomorrow. Until then…love much!

Mrs. Dial. XOXO

Greetings and Happy Father’s Day everyone!

Sorry for my delayed blog post. I’ve just been a little busy getting married and honeymooning.

I have some exciting news to share! Our wedding is the featured love story on Aisledash – a wedding website owned by AOL! How cool?!

Click here to read our story. Thanks to the wonderful folks at Aisledash for getting in touch and helping us share our love story with the world!

I have SOOO much to share with you. So many photos, details and tips that made our day the fairy-tale, elegant, enchanting day it was. Until then, here are a few teaser photos from our photographer, Daniel Meigs:

Thank you all so much for following along with our journey down the aisle. I’m excited to be on this road and am so happy you’re along for the ride. More coming soon!

Guess what friends?! MY BROOCH BOUQUET IS HERE!! AGH! It is so amazing and perfect. I can’t wait to share photos of it with you…after the big day, of course.

Until then, I’m on the final stretch of my jewelry documentation. Here are a few more beautiful family pieces. The far left silver pin with pearls was my grandmother Mary’s. The next two earrings in the top row were Jonelle’s, my grandmother’s niece. For the bottom row, the lovely gold pin with white accents is from The Kiblers – a couple I know through my Dad and his affiliation with the Grand Masonic Lodge of Illinois. And finally, the beautiful vintage watch face was also my grandmother’s. (It was Amanda’s suggestion to find an old watch and mail it in with everything.) I’ve set it to 4pm, the time of the wedding.

Just a small handful of pieces left to share. Coming tomorrow! (The week is only going to get better. My parents get here tomorrow…then Thursday the bridesmaids arrive…SO excited!)

Still a few more details we’re wrapping up. I’ll have more information tomorrow!

Four days until I’m a Mrs!

Well folks. We’re nearing the end of my brooch documentation here. After this post of beautiful jewelry for my vintage brooch bouquet, there’s only one more to go! AND we’re nearing the end of our engagement. Our wedding is only 17 days away now! So hard to believe. I thought it would never get here, now look how quickly time has flown!

Today’s brooches are from my lovely bridesmaid Rebecca N. She traveled from here to Chicago looking for the perfect brooches.

I’ve known Rebecca since we were hard-working public relations students at Belmont. We had several classes together and spent quite a bit of time studying and trying to figure out what we wanted to be when we grew up.

I’ve always admired Rebecca’s pursuit of life and living it to the fullest. She’s not one to “settle” for anything. I think that’s something we can all learn from.

For those of you who don’t know Rebecca, she has one of the kindest, biggest, giving hearts. She travels all around the world exploring, sharing with and caring for anyone she meets  along her path. Her heart aches for those in need and she continually finds ways to serve people.

Here’s a photo of Miss Rebecca and I after enjoying lunch at Jimmy John’s…one of my favorite sandwich joints:

Rebecca, I’m so thankful you’re in my life. Thank you for your spontaneity, your incredible fashion sense, your beautiful smile and your big heart. Philip and I absolutely adore you and we’re so privileged to have you as a part of our big day.

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!

How beautiful are these?! These lovely brooches came from my dear friend and bridesmaid Megan K. She traveled to several antique stores to find the perfect pieces to suit her taste. So sweet. If you know me, you know I love sparkle…and boy do these puppies sparkle.

I’ve known Megan for what seems like forever. I don’t remember what year we met. I’m guessing it was 6th or 7th grade.

See…in 4th grade, I joined our elementary school’s beginner band – choosing to learn and play, of all instruments, the trombone. For several years, that darn thing was bigger than I was. AND it wasn’t exactly the most popular instrument among the female population, so I spent most of band practices hanging out with the guys.

Thankfully in 6th grade our school district decided it would be a good decision to allow us to start practicing with the junior high band. So several mornings out of the school week I would be dropped off at the junior high school for early bird band, then shipped back to the elementary school with the rest of the 6th graders after practice. Megan was a kind 7th grader to whom I took a liking quickly. Not to mention, she was one more female in the trombone section, which I really appreciated! (Many of my other female friends played easy-to-carry, more “girly” instruments like the flute or the clarinet. I was definitely an odd bird amongst my friends, so I was very grateful another girl was giving the trombone a whirl too!)

Megan and I were inseparable all throughout school – both of us playing our trombones until the end of our senior years of high school. She graduated a year before me, so I had to endure my final year without her. (Thankfully her younger sister was in band, so it was kinda like I still had her around. Just not in the trombone section. )

I remember on September 11, how we were at marching band practice at the football field and then went home for lunch to watch the news footage of the tragedy. I remember football games and how much we LOVED playing “Louie, Louie”. I remember late night talks about guys, life and God.

Megan, I have so many heartwarming, incredible memories that involve you. I am so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for your enduring love, hope and optimism in a world that can seem so dark  at times.  It’s a thrill to be on the journey of marriage with you. Philip and I look forward to spending many, many more times with you and Brandon. I love you, my fellow B.I.C. (It’s an inside joke that’s lasted between us for YEARS. And if we told you what it means, you probably wouldn’t think it was that funny. Ya just had to be there.)

Here we are. The B.I.C.’s! (And Megan, I LOOOVE how you’re actually holding an antique trombone in this picture! Perfect!)

Here we are on Megan and Brandon’s wedding day.
Such a beautiful bride.

Thanks for the amazing woman you are Megan! We can’t wait to celebrate our big day with you. I love you! XOXO

My long-time pal Arla W. gave me this jewelry for my brooch bouquet. Aren’t they great?! That bracelet is killer!

I’ve known Arla since I was a wee little one. Our mothers grew up together and we also grew up together.  We went to the same small town church in Southern Illinois and would confide in each other all kinds of things – particularly involving boys.

As we’ve gotten older over the years, we’ve created new lives in different places and don’t get to catch up nearly as often as we’d like, but we’ve always remained friends.

Arla, I’m grateful to call you a friend and I hope we get some catch up time soon! Our friendship has been long-lasting and I look forward to many more opportunities to share in each other’s life experiences.

Thank you for sharing these beautiful pieces of jewelry with me. They’re absolutely perfect.

More brooches coming soon! AND I’ve been to two weddings in the past two weeks. I’ll be sharing some photos from those too! Happy Friday everyone!

Philip’s cufflinks came in last week. There’s a pretty neat story behind them.

According to the Kent Wang website where he purchased them, the buttons are made of glass and came from a shop in Bohemia that sold buttons to high couture designers in France. Apparently the shop was seized and shut down by the Germans  when the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. The buttons had been in storage until Keng Wang acquired them.

How COOL?! I just love that this little piece of history will be a part of our wedding.

Oh Philip. *sigh* You’re so stylish. And I’m so lucky.