Our Wedding Plans!

Well, the word “plans” is a bit of a stretch at this point. I typically write blog posts to be informative or inspirational or motivational to y’all in some way but this time around, it’ll be a wee bit of needing you as well! I need advice, ideas and more advice! So first things first… as you may know, three weeks ago now I got engaged. EEEEKKKKKK!!! Truly one of the best days of my life (you can READ ALL ABOUT IT HERE)…

And as you may also know (you can READ ALL ABOUT THAT HERE), I knew it was coming. Of course as you can see above, that most definitely did not take away one single bit from the surprise of the actual day or moment or anything but we kind of had our lives all planned out before the big moment. Wedding “plans” and all. Yep, at almost forty with four kiddos in the mix, life just isn’t quite the same as a twenty something getting swept off her feet and proposed to by surprise. We started chatting life changes, big commitments and wedding bells starting late last Fall. As I shared way more about IN THIS POST, we worked life a little backwards and had set a date and a time and a place way before proposal day. The date was July 3rd (I somehow accidentally wrote it wrong… July 5th… on my last blog post 🤦🏻‍♀️) and the place was Antibes, France…

Antibes, France… My very very very favorite place in the entire world. AND where I am planning to purchase a second home sometime before next Summer. EEEEKKKKK!!! I guess this is actually kind of two blog posts in one now. I was (and am) planning to share that little tidbit and a TON more details about my plans to purchase a home in France very very soon. I will take y’all along on every detail from how I am purchasing a home in another country to why I am doing so as well as peeks at every property I am considering and of course video tours once we are there and EVERYTHING! But, there is one small problem…. One small problem with that plan and our wedding plans. France is still closed due to Covid. SOBBBBBBBB!!!!

So the original plan was for me to purchase a place in Antibes sometime around now over a long weekend with just Ab and I flying over whenever France opened back up so that it would officially be mine by wedding time. The girlies and I were then planning to fly out at the very beginning of June for our yearly Summer adventures perusing Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meeting John and the boys in Paris mid/late June. Although we did not WHATSOEVER ask or expect ANYONE other than our kiddos to join, we actually had a lot of people planning to come as well! Don’t worry… we had told everyone to not book a single thing until closer to time. Everyone from John’s parents to my mom, sister, brother-in-law and even some of his family as well as some of John’s friends, Abigail and a few of my friends were all on board with a street party in Antibes. All of the kiddos were then going to fly back with my mom in early July while John and I were planning to stay a few more weeks in Europe for a honeymoon. But… COVID.

Don’t worry, I am not actually THAT upset and I am well aware there are MUCH bigger problems in the world and YES I know we could just bump the date BUT… it isn’t a big deal to me whatsoever and to be honest, I just want to marry him. Here, there or anywhere. When we made our “carefully crafted” life plans, we both voiced how important it was for US to not fully and formally live together until we are married. And since we want to do so this Summer, we are still tying the knot this Summer. France or no France. The reason we had chosen France originally is because a) it is very special to me and John always just says I will marry you anywhere and b) we just wanted something really small, quick and intimate and since we were planning to be in Antibes anyways, it just seemed like an easy choice!

However, we are on to PLAN B! We do plan to renew our vows in Antibes sometime in the next couple of years but in the meantime, it is back to the drawing board. All along we have also planned to have a HUGE, casual and fun reception party in my backyard (more on that shortly) in the Fall so the goal is still a small, quick and intimate ceremony for this Summer. And since our European Summer adventures have of course been cancelled once again, we have decided to road trip California for a few weeks and get married in NAPA VALLEY! The new date is mid-June (specifically the week of June 14th) with a honeymoon in early August (secretly hoping Europe opens by then) and a reception in October. So I need your help!!!! We are in the very very very early stages of planning BUT it is only two months away so it is PLANNING TIME! We literally just want a quick nuptial standing outside somewhere beautiful with zero “to do” about it all. It’s funny because my overall goal from day one has been for everything to just be casual and easy and stress-free with a simple destination and no set plans or event space or anything but then now “easy” has started to seem more difficult than I thought! So… California road trip from Napa to San Diego with nuptials somewhere in Napa. If you have ANY recommendations on absolutely ANYTHING from pretty wedding spots to hotels or dining, DO TELL!

Next up… RECEPTION! Once we decided to do very simple nuptials over the Summer, we started chatting about having a big, fun reception party in my (soon-to-be OUR) backyard this Fall. We had actually very seriously considered having the nuptials and the reception in the backyard this Summer but two words… GEORGIA HEAT. For the reception, we think we have decided on October 9th… was going to be October 23rd because that is our two year dating anniversary BUT Abigail is already in a wedding that day and it wouldn’t be a party without Ab!!! Gosh October 23rd just seemed so perfect though… SNIFF SNIFF.

For the backyard party, I want it to be fun and causal but also elegant and beautiful! I picture lights strung from every possible tree with lots of dancing and an outdoor bar and everything! I cannot WAIT to start planning for and decorating the backyard. Here are some inspiration images I have pinned…