David and Johanna have to be one of my most favorite couples I've ever had the pleasure of serving. They are kind, generous, fun to be around, and their love for Christ shines through their relationship. I loved getting to know them over the time we were planning their wedding. I had just found out our family was growing, and it turned out that Jo was also a midwife, it couldn't have been more meant to be! When our sweet Liem was born, Jo and David were even gracious enough to let him tag along to the wedding so I could nurse him- seriously, I get to work with the best and most gracious couples! 

Johanna came to me wanting a romantic spring color palette, with a few rustic yet modern touches. Their wedding was the beautiful historic Rustic Grace Estate where there are open fields, darling longhorn, and a charming white chapel. 

Dyan Kethley Photography | Megan B Beauty | POSH Couture Rentals | Quality Music DJ | Jar Cakery | G Texas Catering | Alli K Design

For Jo's bridal bouquet, I had the best selection of spring flowers. We went with lilac, poppies, peonies, hellebore, campanula, garden roses, sweet pea, and frill tulips. Let's just say it smelled DIVINE!

Her color palette was so dreamy. The delicate blue, lavender, and grey looked so beautiful in the white chapel. I loved the draping chiffon on each pew. It was a such a nice detail and refreshing change other than the standard pew arrangements. 

We round out this series about my business and back story with the service that started this whole venture. I mentioned in my previous posts about how much I loved wedding planning in its entirety and that is how I started. As the years have gone by, my business has evolved and a few things have changed. My focus has shifted more to florals, but designing, consulting, and planning is still a large part of my business. 

I am a very detailed-oriented person and love seeing every element of an event come together. With that said, it is not always perfectly-laid linens and pretty calligraphy. There are so many moving parts. Let me repeat: so many moving parts to any kind of event, but especially one of such emotional reverence as a wedding. From finding the venue, picking out a dress for you and your maids, designing the entire wedding scheme, to making sure every element comes together on the Big Day is well, a big task. Sometimes we get rolled into more personal or emotional aspects of the planning and I just find that to be part of it. I truly invest my whole self in these clients because they are trusting me with the most important day of their life and I don't take that lightly. By the time the wedding comes around, I typically end up spending so much time with the bride that I almost qualify to be in the wedding party! :) 

We get to plan fun surprises like this for our couples! 

One particular moment I will always remember is my couple from 2016- Johanna and David. They were truly lovely to work with. When she booked me, she knew I was expecting my first bundle of joy and was so kind and accommodating with my needs as a new mother. Liem was about five weeks old when their Big Day came to fruition and I was still committed to exclusively breastfeeding, so we had to be a little more creative with the logistics. My husband actually brought him to the wedding and stayed in the office of the venue so I could come and nurse during down times. It was slightly crazy, but it worked and that is with huge thanks to a sweet couple and supportive team. I share this story to explain more of how much involvement we get with our full-service brides, even when it gets tricky. We just love them! 

Since I did share that crazy story, what does it look like to book a full planning service? Well, we now only take one full-service planning couple per year because of how demanding it can be and we want that bride to be fully loved on. That also gives me opportunity to really develop the details and execute a unique event. We do have an opening for 2018 and would love to book our special bride for the year! 

From being a bridesmaid to the time you get engaged yourself, you can see the fun aspects (maybe even not so fun parts) that are involved in wedding planning. You see the new and creative ideas out there and start thinking about what your Big Day will be like. I would say the majority of brides enjoy planning their wedding or at least having some part in it. Why not? It's the biggest day of your life with probably the biggest party to celebrate. When I talked about how my business started here, I shared about how I loved event planning because planning my own wedding was a dream come true. 

After all the fun of creating a color palette, choosing bridesmaids dresses, tasting cake, and knocking everything off the wedding to-do list is said and done, the reality is you cannot execute it all on the wedding day. There are so many moving parts and your own timeline to stick to, it is simply impossible to coordinate your own wedding and get to enjoy it. That is where we come in. You get to hand over all of the carefully thought out details to us and we bring it to life. Vendors have a point of contact to reach out to for questions on wedding day, your wedding party knows when and where to be at all times, and your day is set up how you imagined without you lifting a finger. And this is the best part of it all in my opinion: someone packs everything up and loads it all for you at the end of the night. 

There are also moments you do not think of that can happen and will need someone to take care of it. On a big event like a wedding, it is helpful to have someone that has some experience. Wedding coordinators are like swiss army knives. We have so many tricks up our sleeves, we are truly a Jane of all trades. In my career, I have sewn bridal sashes, fixed melting/leaning wedding cakes, babysat, become bartenders, air conditioning experts- you name it! Hopefully your wedding would go on without a hitch, but even if anything happened such as these, you wouldn't even know it! 

Create the relaxing and calming wedding experience you have always imagined. As they say- you only get married once, and you will want to enjoy it instead of stressing. 

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing more about my business- exactly how we serve our clients, the different facets we have, and basically the heart behind why we do what we do. Wedfully Yours, interesting name choice, huh? If you've wondered how I came up with this kitschy name, check out this post for the story. When this business started, I had the vision for this to be a full service wedding design company where I would plan everything wedding from A-Z. As I would be creating the design board and laying out the place settings, I began to notice how much I loved to play with the flowers. I noticed that it was the natural element of these blooms that made the entire look of any event. Then my curiosity for flowers began to blossom. See what I did there? 

So, let's talk flowers. Whether you like to grow them, receive them, or just simply look at them, there is no denying they have a poetic beauty to them. From the array of colors they come in to the intricate details of a single petal, I started to really love arranging and designing floral art. I'll be honest and tell you where my beginning training came from: an online course called "Nicole's Classes." It was inexpensive and low-risk in case I decided this was not for me. When I finished the course, I will not say I was a pro by any means, but I knew I had way too much fun and I had to offer this to my list of services. I was selective at first, only offering this service to my existing brides because I was not sure yet if this was an avenue I could even explore. After a few weddings and really learning my floral craft, I am genuinely happy this has become such a large part of Wedfully Yours. We offer full-service florals to any bride inquiring. I LOVE working with other planners! It is so delightful to bring out someone else's design to life. 

My design style is loose, organic and free-flowing. I like to say that I prefer to let the flowers dance and shine as they please :) For every event, I create a recipe to order your flowers and one of the things I love to incorporate most is texture. I like to try to keep it interesting to create more depth in the arrangements. Of course color is a big element, and my favorite part of creating florals because this can really tell your design story. Finding the right blooms to compliment each other can be challenging, yet fun. When you find an unexpected color combination that looks stunning, that is a florist win! 

I'm so excited to be welcoming more couples to our 2017 calendar! Wedfully Yours has a few spring wedding dates still available, and we're currently booking for fall weddings. Click the button below to check if your wedding date is still available!

Photography by Aly Renee Photography 

Here it is, tomorrow marks one whole year for our baby boy. In reality this is just a date on the calendar but if you've been here before, you know it is a big deal. A (sleepless) year we've kept our first born baby alive and survived parenthood thus far. At this time last year, we were relaxing as much as we could and trying to enjoy our last (quiet) moments as two, but so anxious to meet the little person that was going to change our lives forever. Little did we know that at 4 am that night/morning would we have signs of your arrival. I was scared. I didn't know what to expect. I had plenty of experience with children before so I had thought this to be somewhat easy, but there is so much more of the unknown. It is true when they say time flies, but there are some days it seems to hold still. One moment it feels like you're always going to cling to me until I blink and you're walking across the room. In this year alone I have learned so much and personally stretched in ways I never knew I could. I am certain there will be more to absorb as the years go on, but here are some thoughts I have gathered in this time.

Photography by The Moody Romantic

Social Life

As you go through life, some friends change and some remain a constant. As a teenager that was a hard concept for me to understand because we would be best friends forever, right? Well now I see how some relationships can drift with life leading the dynamics in different directions and interests can change. That is just a small part going into the "real world" and getting married. Add in children and your social life is very much different if existent at all. Leaving the house is an event that requires thoughtful effort and when you do make it out, it seems like the time clock is constantly ticking. After awhile, it just is easier to stick to your routine (especially if you've found a groove) and stay home. Finding a balance between being a social butterfly and accepting the new lifestyle of parenthood is tough. Frankly, it sucks to miss out but then that is where your mama tribe comes in. They will have a similar schedule to you and can hang out at 10am on a weekday or text at the most random hours. However, not all of my tribe is made of moms. I'm incredibly fortunate to have friends who don't have children, but are more than willing to help at a moment's notice, eat an early dinner like senior citizens so I can come before bedtime, and lift me when I feel completely exhausted. These girls fill in the gaps where the void of my mom holds strong. They make the holidays extra special and love on him with the asian culture (it's really more comedy for us) so he doesn't have to miss out. That kind of social life is worth hanging onto. 

Building Trust

The moment I became a mother, I felt like I was given new skin. It was like all of a sudden I had so many choices to make; many that would affect him at the current moment and some that would impact him forever. It was a large undertaking so learning to trust myself in making the right decisions is still something I am currently working on, but you do begin to truly find your grit as a mother and woman. Although I knew there would be a lot of offered advice on how to raise my children, nobody stressed to me how many different opinions would come my way about everything. I have to be honest and say I question myself all the time. Even with confirmation from "professionals", I would be afraid I was harming my son. That is a silly way to feel! Let's just say this new skin I have is becoming pretty thick. He is my son and I am doing the best I know how to. That should be enough. I spent a large portion of his life doubting everything because of the criticism I would receive about his size and what I choose to feed or not to feed him. He is not perfect, I will gladly admit that, but he is exactly where he needs to be and I am proud of trusting my instinct and him for developing like he has. (I have to do a mini celebration that he's never been sick! Go Liem!)  Some days it feels like I have lost the "me" I have always been, but I can boldly say most days I feel I have grown into a stronger me. 

I have also learned to trust Liem. In the first year you are given all of these milestones to meet and charts for your child to fit in which can start to get overwhelming especially when you miss one, so then you start doing "research". I will say this right now: it goes down a dark hole of worry. The best thing I have ever done for myself is to let go and let him be. So he's started standing and I'm worried he's going to fall backwards? After a few falls, he learned to slowly lower himself down every single time. He's starting to climb down things headfirst? He learned really quickly you turn yourself around and go legs first. It's amazing to watch your baby learn and discover the world surrounding him- it's so beautiful and blows my mind. The sitting will come, the walking will come, etc. even without the propping and walker gadgets. When he is ready for the next step, he will just do it and it's just incredible to witness! This is certainly not an easy thing for me to do pre-Liem as I love to hover and worry, but this year has given me the tools to just be patient and trust!

Photography by The Moody Romantic

My Marriage

For our marriage, parenting really threw us some curveballs as a unit. If you thought newlywed life was challenging, buckle in the for the ride as new parents. Some days you are not going to be on the same page mixed with exhaustion and it just wears down the flow of the team. There are moments when you feel all alone, and there are times when leaning on each other is the only answer. This is where the 50/50 partnership ends. Some days you don't have anything left and your husband has to pick up all the slack. You guys, grace is where it's at. Without it, I am not sure I would even have a marriage. You have to know where to give in different situations because the fight is not worth it anymore and I honestly believe this fortifies the foundation of our marriage. Adam, watching you become a father and taking the journey of parenthood with you has been one of the best adventures we have ever been on. Our son is one lucky boy to have you raising him. 

Photography by Charla Storey This is Liem in PARIS! 

Heart Renovation

It has never been more apparent to me that I am a sinner. Being married may highlight a few of my flaws, but being a mother puts it all on the stage. I have seen firsthand the impact of my sin on Liem and gosh, it definitely makes you want to reevaluate your heart and pray for change. Earlier in this year, I would find myself struggling with how I was still going to have all of my cake and eat it to. I began to learn quickly that it does not go that way. Sometimes you have to give some of that cake to your baby and it's the most grateful selflessness you can offer. I may not have thought so at the time, but as you can see, hearts DO change! :)

I used to find satisfaction in busy. I had this idea that a productive day of knocking things off the list was good for the soul. When I could not achieve that goal anymore because we did not have a routine, or when we were just so exhausted from the night before, I would be so irritated with myself. Now, my heart has found pure joy in pausing and enjoying those little moments, finding excitement in the smallest things, and relishing in doing nothing but spending time together. 

Photography by The Tarnos (Yall, this itty bitty bottom!) 

When I was planning this post, I didn't really have a direction for it or know exactly what I wanted to write. There was so much feeling to express I could barely sort it out. There just aren't enough words or the right ones to accurately convey these moments and what I have learned from them. This may not have been my most eloquent post, but it sure is the most raw. Being Liem's mom has been the most humbling, heart-shaping, and captivating experience I have ever felt and I cannot be more grateful for this job. Even on the days when I feel like I have completely flopped on balancing it all, one look at him and I know all is well. As I am tired and hope for good sleep again one day, I am so inspired by the entirety of motherhood. Liem, I pray you know what a treasure you are to us. Being chosen to be your parents is a privilege we will not take for granted. Happy First Birthday, our little dumpling, cub, and bubba! 

For all of the photographers that have documented his first year of life, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. I am forever grateful to have these beautiful photos to look back on and see how much our little boy has grown! 

Photography by Charla Storey