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!

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…

Looking for the perfect wedding gown? You may have just found it. Check out this stunning wedding dress by Maggie Sottero:

I’m sure these photos don’t even begin to do it justice. For $600, not only do you get the dress (size 4), but you also get the veil and head piece as well. The veil is cathedral-length with rhinestones and the head piece is all rhinestones.

Everything has been worn only once and is still in brand new, pristine condition. She’s looking to get rid of this ASAP. If you’ve looked at wedding gowns, you KNOW this is a stellar deal.

If you’re interested or want to learn more, simply leave a comment here with the best way to reach you. Or message me at becomingmrsdial at gmail dot com. I’ll help you get your hands on this gorgeous gown!

Hey friends! Sorry for my longer than normal delay between posts. We’re finally getting a bit settled into things and blogging has had to take a backseat for a few days. But I’m back and at ‘em! Throughout these next few posts, I’m going to continue recapping all the events leading up to our Franklin, TN wedding celebration:

After an amazing wine-tasting and dinner, the girls and I all headed back to my house for dessert, drinks and gifts. (We sent Dad and Philip to Philip’s parents house for the night.)

MOH Jill and the bridesmaids had all kinds of fun-ness planned. They had a table full of sweets that included all the treats a girl could wish for. This table o’ treats also included a chocolate fountain with assorted fruit, marshmallows and pretzel sticks and an amazing chocolate chip cheeseball made by my mom. (Yes, my Mom took part in all the bachelorette festivities! She’s cool like that.)

Clearly, I was excited about the chocolate fountain.

After enjoying dessert, it was time for “panties on parade”. That’s right folks. This is where the clothesline of lovely panties comes into play.

Each of my lovely bachelorette guests was asked to bring a pair of panties that reflects her style and/or personality.  One by one, I remove each pair from the line and try to match it with the party-goer. Incorrect guesses called for consequences such as a jell-o shot, stick of gum, marshmallow…I’ve heard of it being played numerous ways. Such a fun game! I had a good time trying to match each pair with my girlfriends and even more fun realizing each pair was mine to keep!

After “panties on parade”, Jill asked everyone to take a glass of my favorite drink, pineapple upside-down cake…and my guests raised a glass to toast our friendship and my future with Philip.

After the toast, we all returned to the living room for a quick session of Carmen Electra’s Aerobic Striptease. HUH-LARIOUS. That’s all I can say. Thanks to bridesmaid Megan for bringing these DVDs!

We all worked up a sweat.  Kudos to all my girls for workin’ it with some serious moves!

Next we all grabbed a seat and I opened gifts.

Girls, I can’t thank you enough for all the little pretties you chose for me! You each made my bachelorette party an absolute blast. It was perfect in every way and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with each of you.

XOXO

Love, Mrs. Dial

After Wednesday’s full evening of preparations and last-minute paper crafts,  Thursday morning we all awoke to a delicious homemade breakfast by Momma Farmer and some tasty, perfectly balanced coffee via our new French press.

It was a productive day! Philip and I got our marriage license. (Which miraculously took only 10 minutes.)

Picked up some flip-flops for the beach. Bought a few last-minute gifts. Started packing for the honeymoon.

And one by one, my beautiful bridesmaids began arriving for the evening’s festivities!

As Megan and MOH Jill began hanging up the clothesline for “panties on parade”, I told Dad and Philip they may want to pack up and head out for the evening. It was starting to get VERY girly in there and I had no clue what else my girls had up their sleeves. The guys stayed at Philip’s parents home for the evening.

Our first stop for the evening was Arrington Vineyards, which is just outside of Franklin, TN, out in the country. It’s a beautiful winery owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn fame. (Sorry gals. No Kix sightings that night.)

(Here I am with a few of my lovely bachelorette gal pals…and my beautiful mother!)

(And here I am donning my lovely bride-to-be sash from the bridesmaids. )

See gals. I was smart about this. There wasn’t much they could do to embarrass me way out here in the sticks. (Not that I don’t trust my bridesmaids and gal pals. I TOTALLY DO.) I’ve heard about some horribly embarrassing bachelorette events involving t-shirts and lifesavers, dares with bar-goers and so on. Thankfully they know that’s not my thing, so I really wasn’t in fear of being terribly embarrassed.

Arrington was a superb location for the vibe I was going for. As my guests arrived, clusters of 3-4 girls stepped inside for the wine tasting. Once everyone completed the tasting, we stepped back out to the large covered porch and enjoyed a delightful dinner together. We had beautiful weather and blue skies as far as you could see with a sun that was slowly setting behind the trees. During dinner, we played TableTopics…which was a brilliant move on behalf of MOH Jill. Many of my guests didn’t know each other, so this gave everyone the chance to get more connected and have a central topic to discuss.

Once our delicious dinner and discussions were finished, we snapped a few photos:

I opened a few gifts from the gals who couldn’t come to round 2 of our evening.

Then we took a group photo and packed up to head to our second destination for the night’s bachelorette events – our home.

Thanks to all my beautiful gal pals who joined us for a lovely evening at the vineyard!

The rest of the evening’s events will be saved for tomorrow’s blog post – Wedding Week/end, part 2.5.

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!

It’s 3 days until the wedding and thankfully all my shopping is done! (With the exception of a pair or two of flip flops. I still need a cheap pair of those.)

With the help of Heylee Harris-Achten, makeup artist, wardrobe stylist and owner of Heylee B. – an amazing clothing boutique here in Franklin, my fashion needs are covered…at least for the next few weeks.

Check out this adorable little tank top I purchased for the honeymoon:

It has removable straps and is just so darn comfortable. A dress I purchased recently is this wonderfully soft brown little number:

Bridesmaid Megan was here when I tried on this dress and we both agreed it fit like a glove. I just love all the detailing and I have a pair of brown heels that will go with it perfectly.

One of my favorite things about Heylee is her flexibility. She is a one-woman show. You can set an appointment with her and get her full attention as you browse through her pieces. Heck, depending on where you live (and how lucky you are ), she may even be willing to pull your size in all of her pieces and bring them by your place so you can try them on in the comforts of your own home. Talk about fantastic customer service!

Don’t live in Franklin? No problem. Heylee updates the Heylee B. Facebook Fan Page with every new shipment! If you see something you like, email her and you can make shipping arrangements!

Her prices are affordable and you’d have to look long and hard to find these designers and brands elsewhere. Heylee only selects unique pieces to carry in her boutique and she only gets a few of each one, so if you see something you like, act quickly!

Heylee, it’s been such a joy getting to know you throughout the past few years. Philip and I just love spending time with you and Jake. Thank you for being my go-to gal when it comes to selecting unique pieces for my wardrobe. We’re looking forward to seeing ya’ll Saturday!

Friends, make sure you become a fan of Heylee B. on Facebook! Everything you’d need to get in touch with Heylee is on that page. Make sure to tell her Krista sent you!

XOXO

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!