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nureyevapologist · 5 years

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with every christmas card i write

a little late because of who i am as a person but here is my @aftgexchange gift for @foxeshaveclaws !! they asked for andreil, the foxes as adults and Allison, so i hope i delivered!!

Snow crunches soft beneath the wheels of Neil’s rental car and he thinks, not for the first time, that Allison’s house is the loveliest thing he’s ever seen. He had never considered himself the kind of person to have architectural preferences, especially as someone who had lived in more abandoned buildings than he could count on two hands, but Allison and Renee’s quaint little cottage made him feel warm every time he saw it. It was all one level, three bedrooms and a big open space connecting the lounge and the kitchen. The garden stretched out for what seemed to be miles, little vegetable patches that were tucked up for the winter and a scattering of vintage furniture, a homey chicken coop in the far corner. A far cry from Neil and Andrew’s modern, cosy apartment, but the perfect setting for their yearly Christmas rendezvous.

Judging by the crowd of cars outside, Neil is the last of the Foxes to arrive; he sees Matt’s truck, and Aaron’s practical family car, a rental that must belong to Nicky and Erik and another that he can only assume is Kevin’s. Andrew, Neil knows, is halfway through a flight at this very moment – scheduling conflicts had meant they’d been apart for a good few weeks, with Andrew’s professional team on a convoluted press tour while Neil’s season had finished for the year, and Neil would be lying if he said he wasn’t missing his boyfriend sorely. Still, a few more hours and Neil’s heart would be back where it belonged.

The familiar silhouettes of his Foxes, his family, flitting around beyond the curved bay window fills Neil with warmth, as he ambles up the cobblestone path with an armful of gift bags and a smile he’s settled into like a comfy sweater. Neil of seven years ago could never have envisioned this kind of Hallmark card life, the pretty green wreath on the front door of the Reynolds-Walker cottage and the welcome mat he knows almost as well as his own.

Allison flings the door open before Neil has even really grazed his knuckles against the wood, wrapping him in a hug that smells like mulled wine and feels like family. “Look who finally showed!”

“Sorry,” Neil says against her shoulder, “I’m late because of who I am as a person”

It startles a laugh out of her, softer and more free than anything Neil remembers from their college days, and she herds him into the lounge where he’s bundled into more hugs than he even really knows what to do with.

“We’re not doing gifts until Andrew is here,” Aaron says, once Neil is settled into the sofa with a cup of coffee. “So we need you to settle the vote”

“We’re split four-for-four,” Matt adds, from beside Neil. “Renee is refusing to weigh in on diplomatic grounds, but half of us wanna watch bad Christmas movies and the other half want to watch the Vipers’ game”

Neil shoots a sidelong glance at Kevin, who raises one brow from where he’s been scrolling through his phone. “I voted Christmas movies, so shut up”

Neil hides a grin behind his mug. “I didn’t say a word”

“Your face did”

He kicks out at Kevin’s hip where he’s sitting cross-legged by the fire, and Kevin yanks at his ankle in protest. It feels familiar, when Dan huffs out a laugh and Aaron rolls his eyes, when Nicky throws a mini marshmallow from his cocoa into the mix. Neil hadn’t realised how much he’d missed this; it was rare for them to all be in the same place at once, these days. Neither Aaron nor Katelyn got much time out of medical school; Matt, Dan, Allison and Kevin were all alongside Neil in the hectic world of professional Exy; Nicky and Erik were in Germany, and Renee was in the process of forming her own not-for-profit charity. It felt like something integral clicked into place when they were all together, and Neil couldn’t stop smiling even if he wanted to.

“Christmas movies,” he says, folding his legs beneath himself. “I see enough Exy as it is”

“Thank you,” Allison says, as Matt, Dan, Aaron and Erik all make noises of complaint. “Honey, do your very worst”

Renee makes a face. “They’re not bad movies, Allison”

Affecting a snobbish voice, Allison lifts her wine glass in the air; “Oh, I’m a very busy businesswoman, and I hate Christmas, and I’m so very single. But what’s this? I’m visiting my hometown? And my childhood best friend works at the Christmas tree farm? And he has a six pack now?”

Renee is trying very, very hard not to smile at Allison’s impression, and Katelyn is laughing freely where she’s tucked against Aaron’s side.

“Don’t forget he’s a single dad, too. That’s a crucial plot point”

“Et tu, Erik?” asks Renee, popping the disc into the player, and the room dissolves into giggles. It reminds Neil of away games back in college, all of them crammed into one motel room at one in the morning, trying not to wake Wymack with their antics.

Neil’s Christmas movie knowledge is pretty limited, but Allison’s impression had been pretty spot on, he decides, only fifteen minutes in. As the uptight businesswoman tears down a strip of tinsel someone had tacked to her office wall, Neil’s eyes begin to slip closed. It isn’t boring, per se, but he had driven all the way here, and he’s sandwiched comfortably between Matt and Nicky, a crocheted blanket draped over his lap while the fireplace burned away on the far wall. All of the main lights had been switched off in favour of the glow from the Christmas tree, and Matt’s shoulder was a warm, welcome presence beneath Neil’s cheek.

If he just closes his eyes, for a little moment…

Laughter is what finally wakes him.

Soft, rumbling, shaking the pillow beneath him.

No, not a pillow, he remembers. Matt’s shoulder.

“This is what I have to live with,” says a voice, familiar, warm, home.

“What you choose to live with,” Aaron corrects, smile dancing around his voice, and the sleep evaporates from Neil in an instant as his brain catches up with itself.

Andrew is standing a few feet from the sofa, arms folded across his chest, a tiny smile playing at his mouth. His hair is ridiculously mussed from where it’s clearly been hidden by a woollen hat and he’s wearing a chunky sweater, the kind Renee often knits for him and one she’d likely thrust upon him the second he entered.

“Andrew,” Neil says, scrambling to stand and nearly braining himself on the coffee table when his legs don’t quite get the message in time. Matt makes a soft, fond noise beside him and Allison laughs, but Neil can only focus on Andrew, Andrew, Andrew.

“Oh,” says Andrew, warm beneath Neil’s fingers as he’s folded into a long-awaited embrace, “decided to join us, have you?”

“Shut up,” Neil tells him, face tucked safely into the crook of Andrew’s neck. Then, quieter, “I missed you”

“Seems like it, sleeping beauty”

Neil grumbles. Andrew’s arms come around his back and he ghosts a secretive kiss to the bend of Neil’s jaw. They stay like that, frozen in time, a perfect Christmas cliché, until Andrew whispers, “I missed you, too”

In just a minute, someone will gasp in faux-surprise and point out the sprig of mistletoe tacked to the ceiling right above their heads. Andrew will tell the room at large to fuck off, but he’ll kiss Neil, anyway, mouth familiar and gentle, and Neil’s heart will beat in double-time. They’ll squeeze themselves into the same spot on the sofa, nestled beneath the kitschy blanket to finish the Christmas movie Renee had put in – a completely different movie to the one Neil had fallen asleep to, not that he particularly notices, with Andrew’s hand tucked safely against his own.

They’ll drink mulled wine and eat sugar cookies, sit in a circle by the fire to trade gifts, little pieces of sentiment that will travel back home to their own little corners of the earth. Kevin will get ahold of Wymack on Skype, a system he’s still getting to grips with, and he’ll tell them they’re all little shits despite his warm, watery eyes.

Neil will stay there, nestled between Andrew and Matt, watching the sun go down through the frosted bay windows, reminiscing with his family until his eyes begin to droop again. They will, all of them, the Foxes, get the Christmas they deserve, with a family they never thought they’d have, and a peace they’d fought tooth and nail for.

#my fic #aftg exchange #foxeshaveclaws #aftg #andreil #sorry this is late hfbfb i have a had a Day

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yuli-ban · 8 years

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Anarchy in Prague/Belle Grand-Mär Megapost

See, now this is a megapost. The goth one was only about two unique pictures. This one has three.

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Current theme song for Anarchy in Prague. Harkens back to the days when it was described as a “Stoner Rock Scott Pilgrim”.

Drawn by @dalf

She’s 27 at the time the story starts. She is literally on the edge of being a Millennial (I’m one of those who thinks the cut-off between Millennials/Generation Y and iGeneration/Generation Z should be 2001, but some say it’s actually 1996).

Drawn by @alouissever

If two people share a 1-Up, how would that work? Also, you can tell they’re getting close to 30 just by how stoned they look when, in fact, they’re trying to stay awake for New Year’s. I love this aspect of Anarchie, rambling about how Millennials are growing old and are no longer the dominant youth generation. In 2024 (which is 7 years away), there will be 40-something Millennials. I’ll be 30, holy fucking mother of fathers.

Drawn by @dalf

Muriel and Malfiore. Pan’s goth “girls”. Muriel’s, like, 28. However, Malfiore/Marie is 37. She’s still a Millennial, yo. 2024-37=1987. She’s a fucking ‘90s kid and she’s already growing some grays and finding the protoforms of what will one day become wrinkles.

Drawn by @alouissever

Arthur and his sister, Daria (yes, I know it was Darya; deal with it). Daria’s nonplussed about how childish Venus remains.

Drawn by @alouissever

I actually couldn’t find the bottom image for the longest time, so I think this is the first time I’ve posted it to Tumblr. See? It’s not all reposts. I kinda like how Venus looks like a ghost in the second picture, but Dalf forgot about the Saint Vitus logo! And yes, that’s a Pepper robot. I imagined that they might gain a bit more utility between now and 2024. Also, funny thing about Venus being a “hipster”. She’s actually not. She’s more of a moddie than a hipster. But since Arthur’s a hipster, she sometimes tries to be one ironically.

Drawn by @dalf

Arthur Tartakovsky, Venus’s ultra-hipster boyfriend. This was before he gained his ironic mustache. He used to be in an indie pop band in an earlier draft, but nowadays he’s still in an indie pop band. The actual change was his other hobby: before, he was a comic artist. Now he’s an indie game dev specializing in retro games and VR cyberpunk. The world of indie game devs can get hectic, especially in a tight job market. He has to deal with rival devs sabotaging each other and himself sometimes, which is why he developed electrokinetic powers.

Early sketches of the original trio. Only Venus has really changed visually. She was much less notable.

Drawn by @dalf

I already did the posts where @pan-pizza gets his nuts crushed. I see no reason why I should post them again other than to goad Pan into reblogging this megapost. Pan, do not reblog this.

Drawn by @alouissever

Drawn/animated by @spookyfishcakes

Drawn by @nicolas-px-art

Early form of Malfiore. She always wears Ed’s clothes (a la Ed Edd n Eddy), but it was much more faithful in the earliest sketches. Just ask Alouisse-Ver. Also, she used to have Daria’s hairstyle.

Muriel’s first sketch, back before she had her top hat. I created her as a loveletter to Pan Pizza and his gothosexual tendencies; Malfiore was always going to be a part of the story.

Drawn by @alouissever

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Anarchie’s still got a lotta stoner rock in it (Venus’s band and their scene mates are all either stoner rock or heavy rock), but even back in 2014 when I first created the story, I left some room for indie rock. Nowadays, they both take up an equal amount of space. If it ever becomes a movie or a cartoon, it’ll probably be the only one in history where the OST consists of Nebula, Kyuss, Radio Moscow, and Orange Goblin right alongside The Pillows, Kodaline, Arctic Monkeys, and Porno Mags. Radiohead one second, Pentagram the next.

And, for now, that’s all for Anarchie. I’ve yet to commission pictures of Kalo, Syd, Adamski, or Azura Meco, but those are coming. I’m just actually working on the story. Shocker, I know. Even I’m surprised. I just did a 30,000 word outline in about 10 days; the real rough draft should be finished by April.

And now for BGM, which is basically “Anarchie + Cyberdelic Pharmaceuticals”. The early posts here don’t show that off well, but the world will know...

Title card still pending.... I made that 3 yea— holy fuck, I made that three years ago?! How is it 2017 already?

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Pure stardream. It sounds like dreamrock, honestly. The moment I heard this, I knew I had found BGM’s BGM. No pun intended. It was either this or Stand Up.

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Belle. Belle Grand-Mär. British moddie, real name “Indira Elizabeth Jones”, elective mute, severe and antisocial, freeskating and freerunning traceause, yadayadayada. If Venus was a female Scott Pilgrim fused with Murdoc Niccals, Belle is Ramona Flowers + Haruko Haruhara + Ryuko Matoi + Garnet + a mime + Neku Sakuraba + a silent cartoon character. I’m glad I’m a writer. Try creating a silent character! You’d better have mastered visual emotion.

Aurora. Real name “Farideh Moradi”, Persian-Briton moddie, freerunning traceuse, Belle’s closest friend and whatnot. She literally got her name from the reference to the Aurora Borealis in A Flock of Seagull’s uber-80′s hit “I Ran (So Far Away)”. The 2020′s are basically the ‘80s with more cyberdelia, after all.

Bomb. Real name “Madeleine Violetta Dumont”, French moddie, actually dead and works as a psychokinetic grim reaper whenever she feels like it. Also Belle’s rival and foil. Freeskating traceuse. She was created in 2009 as the lead character in a story that was literally “JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future + The World Ends With You”. This is why she seems like someone badly took a character from each of those games and fused them together.

Drawn by @alouissever

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Parov Stelar’s beautiful little electroswing track. It’s so 2020′s. BGM has much more of a stardream atmosphere than the down-to-earth feel of Anarchie. There’s a lot more chiptune, dreamier rock, electrofunk, and whatnot. If you took the soundtrack to Super Mario Galaxy and Steven Universe, mixed it with the soundtrack to Jet Set Radio Future, and made it thrice as eclectic, you’d get something like BGM’s presumed BGM.

You may have noticed that all the characters for BGM thus far are moddies. That’s no mistake or coincidence— it’s a moddie story. It has a stronger character than Anarchie, to the point I can even call it when aspects of Anarchie “seem like something out of BGM”. Moddies are already getting started, though no one’s yet calling them moddies. But you see how vaporwave’s gotten so big? How neon and pixel art is dominating Tumblr? Seapunk and dyed hair are everywhere, everyone loves hallucinogenics, and everyone loves the ‘80s once more. Major Lazer, for the fucking win. Right now, we say that these are signs of hipsterdom. But in the 2020s, we’re going to look back and realize what it really was— the birth of the moddies. We’ve not yet reached the moddies— we still need a Transhuman Be-In, cheaper OLEDs, and a Sgt. Pepper moment for electronic music (where people stop seeing it as purely dance music). And I don’t see anyone who owns a robot like Pepper or ASIMO yet either. And while luminescent hair is definitely a thing, it’s not yet become a common thing. Nor has leaving up Christmas lights all year, or being obsessed with bright primary colors.

But we’re getting there. And the thing that will trigger the final separation between post-hipsters and moddies isn’t a Transhuman Be-In, but simply time: us Millennials are indeed growing older. I was born in ‘94, and I’m 22 going on 23. Millennials brought back hipsterdom, but ‘10s hipsters suffered a brutal blow due to the loss of Bernie Sanders and the rise of Donald Trump. Our whole zeitgeist became fragile. Hence why people are looking for harder music instead of the previously comfortably twee indie pop and nu-folk. Being vintage and authentic hasn’t helped us one bit, and the kids— those younger than ourselves— don’t believe in our ideals. They just see a blizzard. Some may mock the hair colors, but they secretly love it. They want something more than what Millennials are offering. They are loving several aspects of what’s big— aforementioned things like vaporwave, electronic music, dyed hair, cyberpunk revivalism, ‘80s and ‘90s love, etc.— but other aspects, they are eager to discard. There’s a strain of neo-futurism in the iGeneration, which isn’t surprising considering they were raised as something of a proto-cyborg generation.

And that’s the moddies in a nutshell. Kids who recognize they live in “The Future™” and wish to own it. They don’t just listen to electronic music because it’s cool; it also aids that whole sense of living in years that previous generations thought were purely sci-fi. They don’t see electronic music as just dance club/background music. They want electronic versions of prog rock and conscious hip hop. They’re more than happy to drop acid and fuck robots. They don’t love the obsession with a minimalist future with sterile colors— they want neon. Neon lights, neon paint, and a cyberdelic attitude. If that means making cities look like one giant rave, so be it. Because ha ha, they live in the Future.

You can forgive them for their incredible optimism; they’re just kids. And they want you to know it.

#Anarchy in Prague #moddie #indie #goth time #Scott Pilgrim #post-hipster #Belle Grand-Mär #hipster #2020s #neon rock #dreamrock #pixel art

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morrisbrokaw · 6 years

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How to Plan Your Dream Wedding When You Think Wedding Planning is for the Birds

Let me preface this story with – I have always wanted to get married. Ever since I was little. Since the impressionable age of six when my parents finalized their divorce, I knew from that moment on that life was never going to be the same and I’ve longed for that nuclear family dynamic ever since.

I think from that moment on I told myself that my life would be different. Although my family is amazing, I so deeply wanted to create a family structure that was solid and all in one household. The thought of not driving around to 4 different homes on Christmas just seemed like a dream. The truth is, I’ve always loved love and always believed you can write your own story. No matter what the odds are and no matter what everyone else says. It may sound cheesy but I firmly believe that you can create your own destiny. You pick the players; you call the shots. This is the book of your life and it is up to you to write every chapter.

So fast forward 24 years, to the morning I got engaged at 6:45 am with nearly 100 candles lining the floor all around my living room on my 30th birthday. Kind of a surreal moment. I was blindfolded and while I could feel Muhamed down on one knee proposing I thought to myself Wow, I can’t believe this is happening right now. It was like one of those once in a lifetime moments when everything becomes very slow and still; you can feel your heartbeat in your throat and you wonder if you are acting the right way and saying all the right things. But then you are just straight shell-shocked for 12 full minutes afterward and you keep repeating random comments like “WOW!” “Are you serious?” until you start randomly crying. Sounds about right. That was such a good day, and I’ll never forget it.

I guess this is a love story of sorts but this is mostly a wedding planning story. Because the truth is, I really wanted to get married, but I also very much wanted to elope. If you can believe that. And Muhamed, the one who didn’t quite want to get married apparently couldn’t live without a huge wedding. Go figure. That is life for you. So here we were. Knee deep in planning a gigantic wedding, which was throwing my detail-oriented, perfectionist OCD tendencies into a full-blown tailspin.

And while my wedding is still very fresh in my memory, I want to give you all the best takeaways and learnings I can possibly think of so that your big day can go as smoothly as physically and emotionally possible.

First things first! Pick your venue. I did this right away and it helped set everything in motion. When you pick your venue, you simultaneously set your wedding date and you also figure out what the venue can offer you when it comes to catering, drinks, music and every other accommodation under the sun. So really picking your venue gets the proverbial ball rolling. We decided on Mayowood Stone Barn in Rochester, MN. It was the perfect mix of old-fashioned elegance paired with the rustic outdoors. I loved the European equestrian style and feel of the location which opened up to a huge farm field surrounded by picturesque woods. The staff was also wonderful to work with which was a huge plus.

Next thing to do is find your dress! They say it takes 5 months for design, shipping, and then a couple additional months for alterations. And if I am going to be completely honest with you – finding my dress was an ultimate nightmare. I went to 11 stores. Some women find their dress at the first store, well, that was not me. Give yourself enough time not to feel stressed. I say start early on this one. Also, you will need your wedding shoes before you begin dress alterations; I decided on a pair of Badgley Mischka’s which were comfortable and had just the right amount of sparkle.

Right around the time you say “yes to the dress” (roughly 9 months before your wedding date) is when you should begin interviewing potential photographers and videographers. My good friend Colleen Eversman of 2ndTruth Photography offered to shoot our wedding as a gift which was amazingly kind of her. She and her second-shooting side-kick, Josh Olson Photography, did such an incredible job. I would highly recommend interviewing a handful of photographers + videographers and really taking a peek at their portfolios and pricing packages before you go ahead with your selection. The main takeaway is you want to feel unbelievably comfortable shooting with them. In an attempt to save money, I said no to hiring a videographer which I deeply regret! But I had to draw the line somewhere when it came to our continuous spending. I think in the wild world of wedding planning weighing the pros and cons and asking what is most important to you and your partner helps a great deal when you’re attempting to finalize the plans and make some of those harder last minute decisions.

I would advise that you start your wedding invites and address list asap. This took me WAY longer than anticipated. Perfecting the addresses and invites took me nearly 3 months. I would also highly suggest sending out “Save the Dates” at least 6-8 months before the wedding, some sites even say 8-12 months before. I did not do this and this is one of my biggest regrets. Begin reaching out for all your loved one’s addresses now and compile that list! After I finally sent the wedding invites out (4 months before the wedding) I received several replies that potential attendees already had plans, which totally bummed me out.

I asked my good friend, design maven and colleague at W&D, Judith Marilyn to create my invites. She was striving for a classic bohemian elegance with them and I was so happy with the way they turned out. I loved the feel of the vintage font and flowers.

I highly recommend reading this book at the beginning of your wedding planning journey Love, Lust, Wedding Planning for the Wild at Heart. Because it’s just fun and it gets you in the mood. Molly Guy is hilarious and just an all-around badass writer and human, not to mention a total inspiration to me. But in all seriousness, this book really opened my eyes to creating your very own dream wedding just the way YOU want it. Not anyone else. It reminds you that you don’t need to follow any rules and you can make your big day everything you want it to be. Even if you want something avant-garde like a Batman cake or a bohemian bungalow to hang out in for your reception. Because after all, your wedding should be a special celebration of the unique love between you and your partner and not just a replica of someone else’s nuptials.

Before you send out your invites makes sure you create your wedding website and registry. I made mine on The Knot and it was pretty simple once I actually sat down to do it. The Knot also offers you quite a few project management tools and reminders of to-do items that I would have most certainly forgotten. You can go as deep into the woods with this website as you’d like.

I was lucky enough to have my catering and cake/desserts included in my wedding venue package, but I would suggest seeking these vendors out 7-10 months before your wedding date to be safe. Asking around to friends and family for recommendations was super helpful in finding the right vendors. It’s fun and romantic to experience these tastings with your partner as you craft what your perfect day will look like each step of the way together.

Pick your florist at least 8-9 months out and I would definitely hire at least a day-of coordinator, if not a wedding planner. I went with Maven Events for both and they were phenomenal. Very laid back and easy to work with but when it came to the big day they nailed every minute detail. Their florals and decorations were absolutely stunning, effortlessly classy and beyond beautiful. I cannot say enough good things about Kelly and her team. I received a myriad of compliments regarding the decor, thanks to them. Combining our florist and coordinator was a dream-like experience, too. With wedding planning, it’s helpful to kill two birds with one stone as often as possible, because that means fewer people to talk to and less projects to manage.

Also, if you have time, it’s fun to get crafty with your wedding. I thrifted nearly twenty vintage medicine bottles for each table, Kate then designed the gold table numbers, printed them out on the Cricut and we placed them onto my vintage bottles. This was an extremely rewarding and effortless project which saved us time and money and I’m happy to report they turned out perfect! Muhamed and I also decided to make our own name cards which turned out to be a success but this was rather time-consuming. We bought vintage-looking postage stamp paper from Michaels and I used a calligraphy pen to write everyone’s name in cursive. During the reception, we asked everyone to write us a handwritten note on their name card and place them in the envelope on their table. It was so entertaining reading all of the humorous and heartfelt letters the next day.

Figuring out my hair and makeup was a little tricky for me. I went back and forth with should I save here or should I splurge? In the end, what is a couple extra hundred dollars within a wedding? I would definitely recommend splurging on this one. I think feeling and looking amazing on one of the most important days of your life is 100% necessary. Especially a day that is wrought with extreme nerves and unexpected emotions – looking my absolute best definitely helped ease my nerves quite a bit. When you feel good about yourself that confidence seems to exude outward, so I highly recommend getting a few consultations and going with a team of artists that make you feel the most beautiful you’ve ever felt, and most importantly, the most like you. You should feel like a movie star version of yourself. Anything less is not good enough! I ended up going with my good friend Sal Rodriguez for makeup and local all-star Jen Hughes for hair, I like to call them the dream team, because they really are! If you live in the Twin Cities area I highly recommend hiring these two for your glam squad.

Rewind to 30 days before the wedding. I was officially stressing big time. Every day counts when you are at the month countdown. Every night after work was spent doing something wedding oriented and at this point, my wedding day and my remaining to-do list were beginning to haunt my dreams, ha literally.

Now it was time to write the ceremony, finalize the music, print the table numbers, complete the name cards, create a shot list for our photographer, and I was still following up with people who didn’t RSVP. I was also planning my bridesmaids’ presents at this time. And really taking a close look at timelines (which my coordinator helped me to create.) Another positive aspect about a coordinator is that they educate you on all of the little things that there is no way you would ever know even exist! Like how long the dinner speeches should be, telling your officiant to remind your guests to be seated before they begin speaking and interesting things like when to cut the cake so the caterer has time to slice up the entire cake. Day of coordinators and planners are so worth it! Unless you are hyper-organized, but either way, you will need to hire a helper to set everything up on the day of if you do not have a coordinator. The last thing you want is to feel stressed about anything (besides yourself) on your big day.

Also, a word to the wise, budget smartly friends, because no matter what you do weddings are ALWAYS more than you think they will be, so I highly suggest saving as much as you can, as soon as you can, and possibly having those hard conversations with your parents pretty early on as to how much they are all planning to contribute.

Another experience I want to echo is that planning a first look with your partner before the ceremony really helps release a lot of the nervous tension and built-up emotions before you have to walk out in front of everyone. I felt really calm and at ease during our ceremony knowing that Muhamed and I got to spend an hour together before the wedding. It was also nice to get all our photos out of the way before the guests arrived that way after the ceremony we got right into socializing and sipping on that celebratory glass of Prosecco.

Finally, everyone always says your wedding day goes by in a blur, which couldn’t be more true. After the wedding I found myself searching every crevice of my mind to remember who I talked to and if I got to say hi to each guest. I almost felt as though I blacked out when I couldn’t remember certain conversations, it is such an overstimulating blur but in the best way. After the big day, I thought I’d be relieved that all the planning and stress was finally over, but the first thing that came to my mind that next morning was how I longed so deeply to do it all over again. If I wasn’t so exhausted of course.

It was such a magical day filled with all the people I cherish most in the world. I’ve never felt so much love in one collective space. After fighting Muhamed tooth and nail to elope I had to say those dreaded words to him the next day, “You were right.” I don’t regret the large wedding in the least, it was worth all the stress and every single penny. It was the party of a lifetime that I’ll hold close to my heart forever.

I was so happy that all my beautiful W&D girls came out for the wedding too!

What happens after it’s all over, you ask? Well, I’m finally on to making sure I get out those 250 “Thank You” cards out before the end of August! Another wedding hack, make sure you write down everything you’re gifted as all the presents roll in, from your bridal shower to your big day, there is a 3-month window where all the gifts begin to arrive and if you don’t document everything carefully your long-list of presents can become a bit unorganized and overwhelming.

Well, I hope this list helps a few of you that are currently wedding planning! I would love to hear your favorite wedding memories or any tips and tricks you have for future brides in the comments below!

Here is my top list of resources for planning your personal dream wedding

Must-have wedding book for inspo: Love, Lust, Wedding Planning for the Wild at Heart.

Favorite wedding website to create your website and registry: The Knot

Here are a few different wedding checklists to make sure you have everything covered! I scoured the internet and then collectively created my own. The Knot has a great list too that is catered around your personal wedding timeline: The Only Wedding Planning Checklist You Will Ever Need // The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist // Wedding Checklist

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