I'm finally getting around to sharing some wedding photos! There are hundreds to select so I'm going to split them into a series of posts, since they were divided up into sections by our photographer as well. This post has some of our getting ready photos at our wedding venue, Hotel Ballard, as well as some tips on how to best schedule this portion of your wedding day. All photos were taken by Alyssa Brooke Photography. Please request permission before reposting any photos. Invites were designed on Vistaprint - I highly recommend this site. Their designs are simple to edit and the prices are super affordable. I tried on what felt like hundreds of heels before the wedding and ended up with this affordable pair from DSW. They are the most comfortable heels ever and I wore them to my best friend's wedding as well. Vow Books | Customizable Ring Dish | Heels (in black) | Perfume All three rings are from Robbins Brothers Bellevue. The only designer I remember (oops) is Henri Daussi, who makes my wedding band. I really wanted a particular look for the band, some people call it a 'bubble' or also a 'floating' ring because there's only a single prong connecting each … [Read more...]

Background I've known Grace for over 8 years now, and it only took me about one of those before I realized I was going to marry her. The first time we talked about marriage, Grace was in the middle of arguing with her roommates and took two hours to reply to me. I definitely thought she was coming up with a sneaky way to let me down easy. But as it turns out, she actually did still like me, and now she's stuck with me forever. (Jokes on her.) But in all seriousness, Grace has been an amazing partner for the past 8 years we've been together. I've been asked by Grace to write about our proposal from my point of view. I'm not the professional blogger here, so don't be shocked if my post isn't up to par! And sorry I didn't include any outfit photos either. The Proposals That's right...the proposals. Like any good fiancé to be, I had some elaborate scheme filled with cute photos, a romantic place, and some quality time together. So naturally after intense planning, secret keeping, and finding people to help me set it up, both of the plans fell through... For those who don't know, I went to Western Washington University for college, which is up in northern Washington. … [Read more...]

A few weeks ago, I planned to head south to visit my parents and run some wedding errands. My parents live in a city right across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon so we do all of our shopping there. (Hello, no sales tax!) Whenever I plan to go visit my parents I always have to get creative about my transportation. It's not so close that I can just take public transportation - but there are definitely options, like taking a bus, train, or even plane. They're not very flexible options though and when I get to my parents' house, I never have a car to drive! (For those of you that don't know, I got rid of my own car when I moved near downtown Seattle.) While I was planning this trip, I was thinking just how convenient it would be if I could drive myself down so I could make my own schedule. Plus it would give me the freedom to drive around town once I got to my parents' house. I ended up having the awesome opportunity to drive a 2018 Mazda6 Signature for my trip! To be honest, since I don't have a car and don't drive often I was a little nervous to drive a new car but it was so easy to get used to. I immediately felt comfortable after driving it for a few minutes and … [Read more...]