Bicycle Bachelorette

My entire adulthood I knew I wanted my bachelorette party to be in New Orleans, the city I fell in love with while attending Tulane and the city that still has a piece of my heart.  One Friday morning in late September a group of us hit the road and headed 6 hours west, coffee in hand.

In the car were Bridesmaid Lemon (the driver), Bridesmaid Runner, and two friends.  My sister and Bridesmaid Doc would be flying into New Orleans and a few of my college friends who still lived there (including Bridesmaid NOLA) would be joining the festivities as well.  We had such a fun drive, listening to the "Boy Band" Pandora station (I cannot recommend this station enough) and we finally got to the JW Marriott around 4 PM.  Friday night was going to be my college-ish night and Saturday would be the downtown night so we got freshened up and headed uptown to recreate a typical Friday night for me in college.

We went to my favorite place to have happy hour, The Columns Hotel (you may remember it from Mrs. Archer's wedding!). 

Photo by Bridesmaid Lemon

Their bar is gorgeous and has amazing happy hour specials, too.  $22 bottles of champagne?  Don't mind if we do!

Bridesmaid NOLA, me, Bridesmaid Runner

Friend C, Friend E, Bridesmaid Lemon

 We sipped champagne for what felt like hours and we were soon joined by Bridesmaid Doc and my sister/MOH.  My sister had a surprise for me that would be used the next day but just had to make an appearance that night, too - a Princess Catherine tiara!

Photo by Runner

When we had our fill of champagne (is that even possible?!) we went across the street to Superior Grill, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the city.  We had a great dinner and then headed out on the town.  We went to one uptown bar, Le Bon Temps, before heading back downtown to the French Quarter.  Of course there were a lot of bachelor/bachelorette parties, which was kind of fun.  We hopped around Bourbon Street before grabbing a last drink at the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone (where Mrs. Archer got engaged!).

Photo by Bridesmaid Runner / Jealous of my tutu?

The next morning was pretty relaxed, with people grabbing breakfast and getting ready on their own time.  Around lunchtime we all headed out to explore the French Quarter by day and pick up some souvenirs.  Not before enjoying a cupcake sent to the room by Bridesmaid Nole, though!

Favorite photo from the trip, courtesy of Bridesmaid Lemon

 Wait - what's up with the two on the right, Bridesmaids Doc and Lemon?  Too many beignets?  Nope - they are both pregnant!!  Spoiler alert - I had four pregnant bridesmaids at my wedding!  Doc flew from Seattle to New Orelans seven months pregnant to attend my bachelorette - that is dedication!  Doc and Lemon shared a room and although they had never met before that weekend, I was so happy to see how well the moms-to-be hit it off!

Photo by Bridesmaid Lemon

We did some shopping and observing around the French Quarter before getting ready to go to the highlight of the afternoon - high tea at the Ritz Carlton!  Everyone wore fascinators and I wore my Princess Catherine tiara.

Runner, Sister/MOH, me, Friend E

You.  Guys.  I had never been to tea at the Ritz but it was so much better than I even expected.  We had two courses of snacks - one savory course and one sweet course.

I somehow only got pictures of the sweets, but everything was delicious.  We had our choice of so many different types of tea, all of which were delicious.  Oh, and then there was unlimited champagne!  It was glorious!  Before leaving tea we did an impromptu photo shoot.  Our first shot was funny and then someone suggested doing a Vanity Fair cover shot.  This is what we ended up with:

Photo by Bridesmaid Runner

Lemon is trying to ask, "Who is the father?"  Overall we had so.much.fun at tea and I cannot wait to go back!  We then headed back to the hotel to watch a little bit of football and get ready for dinner.  We also took a moment to capture this gem, which Runner later sent to me and said, "I don't think it is clear enough that you are the bride."

Photo by Bridesmaid Runner

Saturday night I was told to wear white while everyone else wore black.  I was given a sash and I eventually stole Runner's fascinator from earlier that day (I am shocked I let her take it home with her at the end of the weekend). 

Photo by Bridesmaid Runner

We went to dinner at American Sector, a John Besh restaurant in the World War II Museum.  If you want an affordable John Best meal with a super cool atmosphere, this is your place.  The drink menu is old-school and a few of us sipped on something called the Last Fling.  At one point I went around the table and shared my favorite memory with each person there, which was a nice way to honor those who went out of their way to join me and it also helped everyone get to know each other better. 

We went from dinner to a few bars,although those who were expecting said goodbye after the first stop.  These ladies were such troopers and I am honored to call them friends!

We had another fun night bopping around downtown before calling it a night.  The next morning we went to Mother's for breakfast, which is a must-do if you're ever in New Orleans!  Doc and Sister/MOH headed to the airport and the rest of us piled into Lemon's car for the drive back to Tallahassee.  Our post-bachelorette blues were helped a bit by a pit stop at Steak and Shake for fries and milkshakes.  Together.  (It really pays to travel with pregnant people!) 

I had such a fun weekend in New Orleans and I really think half the fun was showing off my version of the city to those who only new about the touristy stuff or who had never been at all.  I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends and this was the perfect way to whet our appetite for Savannah!

Anyone else do a New Orleans bachelorette?  Can I go back now, pretty please??

The Night Before

We decided pretty early on to have our rehearsal dinner at Belford's Seafood and Steaks, a great restaurant in the City Market area of Savannah.  Given the fact Belford's is a nice restaurant we realized our rehearsal dinner would be on the more formal side of the spectrum.  I wanted the invitation to show that and my Etsy searches led me to Olive Berry Paper.  The main draw for me was the fact they offered two-pieced invitations, the main invitation to dinner and then a separate insert with details for the rehearsal itself.  I liked this idea a lot since not everyone we invited to the rehearsal dinner needed to come to the rehearsal.  I settled on "The Night Before," which fit our feel perfectly.

I set up a separate email account and included our home phone number (yes, we have one of those!) for people to RSVP.  I added this card for anyone who needed to be at the rehearsal:

Olive Berry Paper gives you the option of buying a digital file of the invitation for you to print yourself or having them print it for you.  It ended up being much easier and not very expensive to have them print the invitations and mail them to me.  I was able to order different amounts of each invitation since I needed less of the rehearsal insert, which was a nice way to save a few dollars. The navy/stars pattern was printed on the back of the cards, which was a pretty touch.

I highly recommend Olive Berry Paper and I plan on using them again, since they do more than just wedding invitations.  The owner chatted with me for a while before I nailed down our design and she was always responsive and pleasant. 

Did anyone else do a separate insert for the rehearsal? 

Saying Yes to the Dress

Wedding dress shopping was something I feared for a while, mostly because I hate having a lot of attention but also because there is so much pressure.  What if I don't have that moment?  What if I don't know when I found the right dress?  What if I hate everything and have to travel out of Tallahassee to get my dress? 

I started (and ended) my search at Tallahassee's best bridal salon, Vocelles.  I know the owner Kristen through Bridesmaid Lemon and I had already been into the store a few times for various reasons.  When I saw they were having a Wtoo trunk show one weekend, I knew that would be my first wedding dress experience.  On Friday afternoon last November four of my bridesmaids brought champagne and cupcakes (it was my birthday weekend!) to Vocelles and we got down to business.

I knew I wanted something relatively classic and with straps - I hate pulling strapless dresses up all night and I did not want to do that on my wedding day.  I thought I wanted a fit and flare or something along those lines, meaning no ballgown for me.  We pulled a lot of options and I started trying them on.  It was so much fun!  I was amazed by how much I liked things I pulled "just for fun" and I came very close to saying yes to something strapless and full!  I tried on 8 or so dresses before I put on Greta by Watters.

Ahhhhh, this was it!!  I knew pretty much from the moment I put it on that this would be my dress.  When I came out to show my friends they all knew, too.   Kristen put a veil on me and it sealed the deal.

The plain satin belt that comes with it wasn't quite enough for me so we tried on a few different options before settling on this belt with Swarovski crystals. 

I am probably going to start wearing that belt to work.  Normal?

I said yes to the dress!  If that doesn't deserve a toast, I don't know what does.

I had so much fun with my bridesmaids that day and it was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be.  If you live anywhere near Tallahassee, I cannot recommend Vocelles enough.  I ended up getting my bridesmaid dresses and earrings from them as well and they have been a pleasure to work with. 

Did anyone else buy their dress on their first shopping trip?  Does anyone else love the little pink cans of Sofia champagne as much as I do?

All photos courtesy of Vocelles.

I'm Baaaaack!

Hello, Hive!  I made it through a fabulous wedding weekend and an incredible honeymoon and now I am back as a MRS!  Everything went so, so well and I cannot wait to share all.of.it with you.  For now, here is a mini look at the Bicycle wedding weekend.

We became officially husband and wife and sealed it with a kiss!

Guest photo

 I spent the day getting ready with my best friends and drinking a tiny bit of champagne.

Photo by MOH NYC

Our first look was great and we were so ahead of schedule that we were able to pop into our favorite brewery, Moon River Brewing Company, to split a pint of Swamp Fox.

Teaser by Ashley Daniell Photography

 And the best random snapshot from the day? 

Guest photo

See that bicycle in the background?  You guys were with me all day!  I have a lot more to share before I get my pro pictures back so stay tuned. 

Thank you for everything!

MRS. Bicycle