Curly Hair

Happy Friday, friends! Before you continue reading this post, please take a minute to watch this short video by Dove...it will make the rest of my blog post make sense!

They say you always want what you don't have, and for me that's naturally straight hair. Ever since I was little, I've had curly hair. There were periods of my youth that I distinctly remember not knowing how to style or maintain my curls, so I disliked it even more, especially on days when it was unruly. The thing that was the biggest pain for me was the time it took to get my hair how I wanted. Some days this could be HOURS, depending on if I left it curly or tried to straighten it out.

But over the years, I've discovered a handful of hair products that have helped eliminate out of control frizz, that don't make my hair feel stiff and crunchy and even keeps my curls in tact all day long. It's been trial and error as I'm sure you can imagine, but over time, I've found what works for me and have been able to embrace and love the hair I was given.

Now I won't say I wouldn't trade my curly hair for straight hair (if I could that is), but I will say I've learned to work with what I've got and to be blessed as is. I mean, I can't complain that I can go days without having to wash my hair and it looking dirty and can wear my hair a number of ways because of how thick my it is. So really I just need to remember there are positives to everything, even hair!

Below are a few of my favorite products I've been using recently. Whatever type of hair you have, what are your favorite products to use? I'm always interested in trying new ones out! Oh! Before I forget, I've been following Leigh Ann on Youtube recently and she always shares hair tutorials, product reviews and is the cutest thing ever so check her out for some inspiration.

DevaCurl DevaTowel
Drying your hair with a normal towel can often leave your hair frizzy. The DevaTowel on the other hand is made of microfiber and absorbs just as much water as a terrycloth towel does. I know this isn't really a "hair product" but it is something I've been using for over two years now and feel it works wonders!

It's a 10 Miracle Super Holder Finishing Spray
I really like all products by It's a 10, but this finishing spray (aka hairspray) is amazing. The bottle lasts a long time and gives my hair enough hold without feeling to stiff.

Serge Normant Meta Revive Dry Shampoo
This dry shampoo smells so good and is perfect for days when I don't want to wash my hair, or when my hair gets oily after working out.

Kerastase Shampoo and Conditioner
Kerastase products can be a little bit more pricey but are worth every penny.

Matrix Biolage Hydrasource Mask
I try to let my hair air dry as much as I can but I straighten it quite a bit and use the blow dryer occasionally so I use a hair mask every couple of days to replenish the moisture my hair lost from all the heat. I really like this mask because it leaves my hair feeling silky and helps fight all the frizz. I've already used up this whole bottle and plan to purchase more when I run out of that stuff Will got me.

Scruples Hypershine Repair Spray
When I put heat on my hair, I always make sure to use a repair spray. I get this stuff from my hairdresser and love it. It smells so good and is better then the CHI kind I used to use. 

Simply Sweet Melissa Brand Launch & Re-design

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend! It's been non-stop rain, humidity and all things yuck here in Charlotte so I didn't get to spend much time outdoors, but was able to take full advantage of relaxing at home with Will which was really enjoyable. I'm so ready for the sun to shine again though so I can get back to my daily walks around the neighborhood with Miller!

In other news, I'm really excited your here because Rachel of Oh Simply Joys helped re-design and re-brand Simply Sweet Melissa and the final pieces came together just last week! To say I love how everything turned out would be an understatement. I'm thrilled with every little detail and touch that Rachel incorporated into the design and what I was looking for, which I would describe as Sex in the City meets Steel Magnolias. In other words, something sweet and feminine with a touch of professionalism and sass!   From the fonts, to the colors used, all the way down to Rachel showcasing my love for the South through the pineapple which is a symbol for hospitality, I feel that SSM finally feels more "me". It's hard to describe, but I hope that makes sense. You can read all about the process, the inspiration I had, and much more by checking out Rachel's recent blog post here.   And I can't go without mentioning that Rachel has one of the sweetest souls, is a great friend and has been gifted with such an amazing talent and is blessed in all areas of design! I highly recommend her services if you are a blogger or business owner and want your blog or website perfected into something utterly beautiful. And I mean that. If your hesitant, just check out her portfolio and you'll see what I mean!   In the meantime, take a look around let me know what you think of everything! I even updated my 'About' and 'Bucket List' pages and added categories found in the sidebar so don't forget to take a peek at those as well. Enjoy!  

Our Wedding Inspiration

Happy Friday, y'all! Hope everyone has had a great week! Does anyone have fun plans for the weekend? Will and I don't have much on our agenda which is nice for a change. Usually we have a bunch of errands we run but not this time!

Have you all enjoyed all the posts from this week? If you need a recap you can catch them all below.

Our Wedding: Preparation and Formals
Our Wedding: The Ceremony
Our Wedding: The Reception
Our Wedding: The Details

To finish things off, I'll be ending things with all of our wedding inspiration. What Will and I envisioned our day to look like, how everything came today, and all the things in-between!

If you asked me to describe the way I wanted our wedding day to be like, I would say I wanted it to have a rustic romance feel to it. I wanted the ceremony to have a traditional elegance to it with a touch of modern whimsy. And I wanted the vibe of the reception to feel like a big southern soiree!

For all of the festivities, we wanted to make sure our guest experienced our love and joy. We wanted those feelings to flow out in every detail. We wanted everyone to feel comfortable enough to let loose, and enjoy each moment that passed by. To assure all of those things, we made sure are focus from the beginning was on the location for both the ceremony and reception. We were inspired by our reception venue because it gave off the vibe that you were right at home.

In the ceremony post I did earlier this week, you got a good idea of what everything looked like and how the ceremony played out. But what really inspired us to hold the ceremony at this venue? Well, besides the fact that I attended church there every week while a student at Peace College, it was a venue that was already so beautiful, and I could incorporate simple, minimal decor that emphasized the beauty of Dinwiddie Chapel itself with ease.

Oh the flowers. They were perfect in every way. Marsha with Mews Designs went above and beyond and met all of my expectations. My bouquet was a lush and textured assortment of blush, peach, and white flowers with touches of foliage and greenery. The trailing silk ribbons added a whimsy feel.

For my bridesmaids bouquets, I went with something simple. Baby's breath. The bouquets went well with the dresses my girls wore, and were simple but spiced up with greenery and ribbon. Just like my bouquet. My inspiration for the flowers was something that reminds you of Steel Magnolias. 

Oh my wedding dress. How I LOVED wearing it so much. It was the third dress I tried on at the first boutique I went to. It was an Amy Kuschel gown, the style was the 'Rita'. My inspiration for the dress was something lightweight, was made of lace, and reminded me of The Great Gatsby. This dress was all of those things. It even had cap sleeves and a vintage inspired brooch that was the icing on the cake so to speak. Before the night ended, I changed into a different dress to depart in. It to was also made of lace and actually looked pretty similar to my wedding dress!

I've always been known to give thoughtful gifts and I was inspired to do just that for my girls as a thank you gift to give them at the bridal shower. I wanted to gift them with something extra special. Something that they could wear on my wedding day and to be reminded of our sweet friendship. So after lot's of thinking, I knew I wanted to give them earrings. I wanted them to be gold and they had to be unique. So I decided that if I wanted all of those things, I'd have to make them myself. I ended up doing just that with the help of the girls at Beads Inc. in Charlotte!

For hair and makeup, I wanted to go with a more natural look. I didn't want to have crazy color for eye shadow, but I still wanted my eyes to pop! The gals with Makeup by Ashley Mooney did a wonderful job. We went with gold tones for my makeup and a classic up-do for my hairstyle. You can get more of an idea of what types of makeup looks and hairstyles I was was inspired by from taking a peek at my hair and makeup Pinterest board.

Look at my handsome groom. Will did a great job in picking out the suits he wanted him and his guys to wear. Will decided on a light grey suit and mint green ties that looked perfect for our summer wedding. He wanted something that his guys would be comfortable in, and would be able to wear more then once. I think they all looked great, don't you?

Our Wedding: The Details

It's been a long standing tradition at Peace College to fill the fountain with bubbles when a big celebration is to occur. This was done when I graduated and I've seen it done when a new president joined the Peace College family. Weddings are a big celebration so it was only suitable to request bubbles in the fountain for our day and our wish was granted!

I love details. They always seem to make the ordinary things feel a little more extraordinary. So when it came to planning our wedding day, this area was really fun for me. My mom and mother-in-law are DIY-ers through and through and went out of their way to help Will and I save money in a lot of areas. For one, these two busy bees helped make the signs used at both the ceremony and reception, helped me paint all the mason jars and items used as centerpieces at the reception, and helped print and prepare all the wedding programs. On the wedding day, they also took charge in making sure everything was transported on time and was good to go. God bless them.

We were able to cut more costs by providing our own vases for all the flowers, as well as reused the altar flowers and aisle markers from the ceremony for the reception on the bridal party and cocktail tables. I mean, why waste flowers that are used at your ceremony when you can designate someone to help transport them and have them reused at the reception? Instead of leaving them behind, you can also give them away to guests or donate them and have them taken to a local nursing home.

When it comes to details, I don't want anything to go unnoticed. Most people put a lot of time and effort into wedding planning, so I knew I wanted the details to really stand out as much as possible so I took a lot of time thinking of how I could achieve that. The idea was simple. Make the details personal. Include photos and use things that people are familiar with such as baby's breath flowers which everyone in the South knows of. And don't go overboard. Find areas where you can go BIG and make a statement. We did this by using gold sequins table clothes at the reception, and went subtle on details for the rest. That way nothing felt overpowered. I think this worked in our favor.

That's all for today y'all! What did you think? Are you caught up on my other wedding posts? If not hat's okay! You can read about our preparation on the morning of our big day and see some of our formal photos here, take a peek inside our ceremony here, and experience a fun filled night at our reception here. What's your favorite part of a wedding? Is it the ceremony and the sweet vows that are spoken? Or is it everything at the reception, from the food, to the music and dancing?

Our Wedding: The Reception

Happy Wednesday, y'all! If you missed Monday or Tuesday's blog posts you can read them here and here if you want to get caught up on my past wedding posts! Today I'm excited to share our reception with you as it was one of the most fun parts of our whole wedding day! For our reception venue, we knew we wanted to find a space that had a rustic feel to it, with exposed brick, floor-to-ceiling windows, and had an open floor plan that we could customize to our liking. The Cotton Room in Durham had all of the above and more. It was just what we had been dreaming of and ended up being the perfect reception venue for us.

We also put a lot of thought into our menu selections. Some of the most talked-about items were the pimento cheese sliders with fried green tomato and BBQ pork puppies that were passed out during cocktail hour, along with the goat cheese smashed potatoes. Will's favorite item of the night was the beef tenderloin which was one of the main dish items. I'd have to agree that it was defiantly the fan favorite of the night!

Our wedding cake and desserts were just as delicious and came from The Cupcake Shoppe. We decided to go with one small cake to cut, along with four different mini cupcake options for all to enjoy. The choice to have a smaller cake and cupcakes saved us money in the long run and allowed our guests to have multiple options to choose from which I think they appreciated. If you are wondering, the flavors we went with were called Big Red, Black and White, Cookie Monster, and What's Up Doc.

Our first dance was to Ray LaMontagne's You Are The Best Thing. Doing our first dance was something we both really looked forward to because we had been taking dance lessons weeks leading up to our big day, and even had it choreographed so it was fun having something to "perform" for everyone! My dad and I danced to The Way You Look Tonight by Frank and Will and his Mom danced to My Wish by the Rascal Flatts. Dancing occurred from the minute we arrived, all the way up to our sparkler exist. I think this had a lot to do with our amazing band, The Troupers. They did such an amazing job, played all the songs we asked them to and were interactive with all of our guests. They defiantly brought the party to life!