Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Current Wedding To Do List

Happy Wednesday!

Today I'm sharing my current wedding to do list. We are in the last two months and are working on the final items.  So here's what I'm working on now:


  • Figure out what I'm attaching from Grandma to my bouquet- my Grandma was a huge part of my life until she passed away from breast cancer in 2005. I want to have a piece of her with me on our special day so I will be borrowing a piece of jewelry from my mom to attach to my bouquet- I just need to figure out which piece I will be using.
  • Buy Rehearsal Dinner Dress- I have not even attempted to find a rehearsal dinner dress yet...so I need to get shopping for that.
  • Go To My Wedding Dress Fittings- I have my first dress fitting scheduled for Labor Day Weekend and I can't wait!
  • Finish Centerpieces- I shared in my last post the centerpieces I'm working on and I need to finish them up!

  • Make Ceremony Programs??- I'm still deciding if that's something we want to do, but if it is we will have to work on getting those made up
  • Make Wedding Signage- I bought a chalkboard easel for a sign that will sit outside our ceremony and I also want signs in our reception so I need to figure out exactly what we are doing.
  • Buy Wedding Reception Sandals- I am wearing 3" heels for the wedding ceremony and photos but I need to buy sandals for the reception.
  • Finish Bridesmaid Gifts- I am almost completely done with this but still have a little left to do. 
  • Gifts For Parents- We have an idea of what we are doing, but haven't finalized this yet.
  • Pick All Music- We have to pick songs for everything! I feel so behind on this...
  • Put Together Bathroom Kits- I have some of the items but not all so I need to head out and finish these!
  • Make Final Payments for Caterer, DJ, Day of Coordinator, Photographer, Videographer, Photobooth and put aside all tip money
  • Seating Chart- I can't finish this until I have received all our RSVPs but I'm working on it!


  • Plan Out Day of Timeline- I think this will be the most difficult of every item on my list. There are so many pieces to the day that I need to figure out.
  • Make Nail Appointments- I plan on getting my nails done on the Friday before the wedding and need to make appointments for me and any of the bridal party that wants to come. I need to call about this but will wait a little bit to do it. 
  • Make Escort Cards-  Another item I need to wait a little bit longer on but will take a bit to complete.
  • Get Our Marriage License- We are within the timeframe to get our marriage license so we need to head over to the town hall to do this.
  • Figure Out Toasts- Who wants to give them, when they are happening, etc...
  • Wedding Gift For Tim-  I have ideas...but I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing...

Let's get going and check everything off this list! 

Monday, August 20, 2018

Our Wedding: Getting Crafty

This past weekend was Tim's Bachelor Party so while he was away I did a TON of cleaning (our apartment desperately needed it) and I also worked on some wedding crafts! My wedding to do list has gotten a bit smaller and there are certainly items that have to wait but there were a few things I could start crossing off. 

The first item I wanted to get started on was the centerpieces. I decided on super simple centerpieces with just sand and a white candle inside a vase. I simply just needed to assemble them! I ended up only getting a few done because I need to go buy some more sand but I am happy I at least got them started.


Like I said, super simple but the candles will be lit at each table and I am considering wrapping fairy lights on the table around the base of each vase. Any thoughts on that one?


I wrapped each one in bubble wrap so they won't get dusty and won't break.

I also started on my floor plan for the wedding.


The rotunda ballroom obviously isn't a a rectangular shape but I figured it would work for seeing how the room will be laid out. We are planning on having a sweetheart table on the opposite end of the dance floor from the DJ. Right now I am planning on having twenty tables- some will be tables of eight and some will be tables of ten. Until I have back all the RSVPs I can't finalize everything but I am working on it!

The last craft I worked on this weekend was our table numbers. I wanted to find a free printable but I couldn't find anything I loved so I ended up on Etsy. I found a simple design I loved and after printing all twenty numbers I stuck them in teal frames I purchased from Kohls.


I think they look really nice and definitely were an inexpensive option and I can use the frames in the future which is great. If you are interested in these prints you can find them here.

On Wednesday I'm going to share with you what's left on my to-do list for the wedding! Since today we are exactly TWO MONTHS out from the wedding we are in the final stages!

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

My Bridal Shower

On Sunday my mom hosted the most beautiful shower for me! It was at a restaurant in Narragansett called Trio and we had a patio room and a room inside the restaurant dedicated to the event. I entered to find family and friends waiting for me! Most of my bridesmaids showed up ahead of time to help my mom while I hung back with Ally so we could be fashionably late. 


Rachel bough a lightbox for the weekend and also brought it to the shower. Our hashtag for all the wedding events is #LifeIsGooding so that was on display for all our guests.


I had some little flower girls running around who helped me rip open a few gifts. They also enjoyed sitting on them!


When I arrived I was given a sash reading "Future Mrs Gooding" and a tiara that said "Bride To Be" and worked my way around the room making sure I spoke to every guest!



Brittni's mom Sue made the most beautiful shadowbox with our wedding invitations, bridal shower invitation and our save the date! It was so sweet and creative!


My mom purchased two donut cakes from Allies Donuts and although I never had a piece I knew they were good because all Allies Donut products are so delicious!


Laura was in charge of creating my bow bouquet and she did an awesome job! It looks amazing and I am so grateful!



I really do have the most amazing bridesmaids! I'm so thankful for them!


Tilly was very interested in giving "besos" which she has learned about at school! So cute!


Another photo of the light board and my bow bouquet!



I get to marry into a family of these Gooding ladies! SO excited!



Me with my future mother in law and my mom! Love them!


The best mom ever who threw me the most amazing shower! She did such a great job- everything was perfect!


And the most amazing MOH who planned the most incredible weekend which you can see in my last post! I'm so lucky I have her! :)




I was so overwhelmed by everyones generosity! We received so many amazing gifts I couldn't have ever imagined I would be so lucky!


I took this sign home with me because it was so beautiful! My mom really outdid herself!

I am so thrilled with how amazing this past weekend was and I am so excited that there are only 66 days until our wedding!!!

Monday, August 13, 2018

My Bachelorette Party!

Sorry for the delay on todays post- this weekend was insanely busy! To share the entire weekend with you I'm going to have to split  it into two posts and today we are chatting about my bachelorette party!

My MOH Rachel planned an amazing weekend in Newport and we had the best time! All of my bridesmaids came for at least a part of the weekend and it was great to see everyone.

We started the weekend by hanging out around the Air B&B the girls rented for the weekend. We had some little guys joining us for the weekend.



Rachel and Laura were the first ones at my bachelorette so when I arrived we popped a bottle of champagne and chatted until Ally arrived. The four of us were the entire group for Friday night but we were excited to get the fun started!


Armed with our sparkly tattoos we headed off to Diego's for dinner and drinks which was delicious. I had crack fries again because they are so amazing.


After dinner we wandered down Thames street and ended up spending most of our time at Newport Blues Cafe. We actually saw Ashley I from the Bachelorette there! I was too much of a chicken to go talk to her but it was still very cool!

We also went to another bar on the way back and had a drink while we enjoyed some serious people watching. Once the bar closed we headed back to the Air B&B to get a good nights sleep because the next day we had exciting plans!

Rachel planned a boat ride for all of us to enjoy! Brittni and Brittany came and met us at the Air B&B and we walked over together to the docks. While we were waiting in line Megan arrived! She came all the way from San Diego and although her plane got rerouted and she had to take a super long Uber ride she had finally made it!




We had a great time and managed to beat the rain! It did sprinkle a little bit but not terribly!





Although I didn't listen to the commentary by our tour guide because I was having too much fun chatting with my favorite girls it seemed like it was a great history lesson! I would highly recommend heading our on a boat tour if you visit Newport- there is so much to see there and by water is the best way to see a lot of it!


After the boat ride we went to lunch at Brick Alley Pub which is always delicious! We of course brought our little men along for the fun! 


I loved the photo booth the girls set up and the fact that all our shirts were different colors! It was such a fun time!




We also took another Wiley 570 picture like we did at Megan's Bachelorette.

On Saturday night we headed over to Castle Hill Inn to have a drink on the lawn and take some pictures by the water.



We had to squish in the car a little bit!



It's definitely a fancy inn but it was fun to sit outside and enjoy a drink!




Brittni loves being attacked by Rachel!


Look how gorgeous my bridesmaids are!


And I have the best maid of honor ever!


We had such a great time! And I've gotten to see my college roommates more then ever this summer and it's been amazing!





Megan brought her Fujifilm instant camera and it was great to be able to get all of these pictures!


Our dinner on Saturday night was at 22 Bowen and it was great! I love that all my favorite ladies got to meet together and I was able to see all of then in one weekend. I am so thankful for all of them!

On Wednesday I'll be sharing pictures from my bridal shower which was also amazing- so stay  tuned for that!

Monday, August 6, 2018

July Empties

This month my bin of empties seemed extraordinarily small. Maybe because last month I shared a declutter and empties and had a TON of items. Or maybe it was just that July was so busy that we barely used anything up in the craziness? Whatever the reason this batch is a little small- but it's only the 6th and I already have four items in for this month- so hopefully that will be a little more exciting.

Let's get started!




First up- cleaning products. I finished a bag of Tide Pods which I love since they are super easy to cart up and down the stairs to our basement laundry room. Since we share with the entire apartment building I can't just leave a bottle of detergent down there so carrying one pod down at a time is much easier then hauling a bottle of detergent up and down the stairs. I will continue buying these in the future when I get the couponing!

The Mrs Meyers Tub and Tile cleaner was not my favorite. I'm not a huge fan of their lemon scent and I felt like the cleaner wasn't getting everything. I love many of their products, just not this one.

I am a huge fan of the Mrs Meyers Dish Soap and Bluebell was a new scent for me and I am NOT a fan of it! I will gladly stick to my basil scent that I know I love from now on. The Bluebell was too floral and gave me a headache.


Two mini lotions finished up at work this month. The Gilcrist and Soames came in a Birchbox awhile back and I thought it was amazing lotion. My skin felt soft and the lotion was moisturizing without being too much.

The Aveeno was SUPER moisturizing but to the point where it was almost too thick for my hands. I think this would be a great lotion for super dry places- like feet!


I used up this sample perfume of Flowerbomb. I brought it with me when I traveled this month and loved it!


Two more body products. The first is a deodorant called Organic Island Deodorant which I bought on a YouTube recommendation by Brittany Vasseur  (VasseurBeauty) but it didn't work well for me! I've since switched back to my LaVanilla and am much happier!

This Softsoap Coconut Scrub has been hanging around forever and I still have one left to use up! I like it but not as much as I thought I would when I eyed it in the store. I don't think I would purchase this in the future.


Three Cake Batter Chapsticks used up this month. This is still my all time favorite and I will keep going back to them!

What have you used up lately?